Over 160,000 public charging stations are installed in Germany

At the turn of the year, 160,808 publicly accessible charging points for electric cars were installed in Germany, according to the German Association of the Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). This represents an increase of over 30,300 compared to the previous year, representing an increase of more than 23 percent within a single year.

8,000 fast charging points installed

The charging capacity of all charging points in Germany has grown even more sharply, by almost 40 percent. This figure currently stands at 8.5 gigawatts. Last year, the total charging capacity was 6.1 gigawatts. The German Energy and Water Industries Association (BDEW) is calling on the federal government to maintain this momentum. It must think European-wide in doing so, because electromobility doesn't stop at national borders.

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The rapid growth in recent months is primarily due to the extensive installation of fast-charging stations with a charging capacity of at least 150 kilowatts. These now number more than 8,000 – well distributed throughout Germany. This ensures a high availability of ultra-fast charging points, especially in rural areas, as figures from the BDEW show.

Planned fast charging network is almost finished

Fast chargers have now been installed in over 80 percent of the so-called search areas of the Deutschlandnetz expansion program. As part of this program, 9,000 charging points with a capacity of 200 kilowatts per vehicle are to be installed at 1,000 locations throughout Germany and along highways. Charging stations have been installed at approximately 900 of these locations. These must be accessible to electric vehicle drivers around the clock. The program also provides funding. However, most of these charging stations have so far been built privately, without funding.

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Simplify approvals

Accordingly, the BDEW (German Association of Electric Vehicle Manufacturers) advocates ending government subsidies for charging stations. Competition delivers faster and better results. In return, the association calls for simpler approval procedures for the construction of charging stations. Furthermore, more land must be made available, and sales of electric cars must be promoted. However, the association favors tax incentives for the purchase of electric cars, rather than a purchase premium, which has proven successful in neighboring European countries. Strict fleet limits also provide a reliable framework for electromobility, ensuring planning security for all companies in the market—both car manufacturers and charging station operators.

Capacity utilization remains low

This will also increase the utilization of charging stations. This is still relatively low, even though the market for electric vehicles has picked up somewhat in recent months. However, the expansion of charging stations is still accelerating. As a result, across all charging stations in Germany, they are only utilized to an average of 17 percent. However, there are many charging stations that are significantly more frequently used if they are conveniently located. However, many charging stations are rather abandoned on the side of the road, but are still needed to cover less populated areas.

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AC charging stations better utilized

The slower AC charging stations were the most heavily utilized. Here, the average occupancy rate was almost 19 percent, higher than the overall average and also significantly higher than the DC charging stations. These were only just over 12 percent utilized. The many installed fast charging stations still managed an average utilization rate of around 17 percent. This is slightly lower than that of the AC stations, even though the fast chargers are strategically positioned more advantageously. (see below)