ACEA warns of insufficient charging infrastructure in Europe

Brussels – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has warned that there is an insufficient number of electric charging points along the road networks in most EU countries, with a vast majority of them not charging fast enough.

In a statement 13 Oct, ACEA called on European policymaker to address the “double problem”, which it said could pose the risk of stalling market uptake of electric cars.

“Six EU countries do not have a single charging point per 100km of road,” said ACEA.

Some 17 countries, the association went on to say, have less than five charging points per 100km of road, with just five possessing more than 10 chargers for every 100km of streets.

“There is also a huge gulf between the countries with the most chargers per 100km of road and those with the least,” the statement noted.

For instance, in The Netherlands there is one charger for every 1.5km of road, while Poland – which is eight times bigger – has just one charger along every 150km.

Charging speed is also a major issue across the continent, as fast chargers with a capacity of more than 22kW make up a fraction of the total.

According to ACEA figures, just one in seven of all EU charging points is fast.

The rest, including many common-or-garden, low-capacity power sockets, have a capacity of 22kW or less, and do not charge vehicles “at an acceptable speed,” ACEA said.

“If we want to convince citizens all over Europe to switch to e-mobility in the coming decade, charging these cars should be as easy as refuelling is today,” said ACEA director general, Sigrid de Vries.

“People should not have to travel for miles to find a charger, nor should they have to wait ages to charge their vehicle,” he added.