The increase in electric driving in Europe is being held back by the lack of charging capacity. The European federation of car manufacturers ACEA warns ahead of the discussion on the alternative fuel infrastructure (AFIR) that Brussels proposed in July that there is not only a shortage of charging stations in general. Also, only one in nine charging stations is a fast charger.
ACEA says it is sounding the alarm about the situation. As part of the European climate package Fit for 55, new CO2 targets are also being imposed on the automotive sector. But to get people to drive electric, ACEA says all the "red tape" around charging must be removed. “People need to see plenty of chargers in their immediate vicinity, and these charging stations need to be quick and easy to use, without people having to wait in long lines,” said ACEA Director General Eric-Mark Huitema.
Of the approximately 225.000 public charging points currently available in the EU, only 25.000 are suitable for fast charging. The other charging points include many ordinary low-capacity sockets. Charging a car at these charging points can take up to a night.
“Charging should be as convenient and easy as refueling is now,” said Huitema. He calls the AFIR proposal nowhere near ambitious enough. Moreover, the proposal is not aligned with the envisaged new CO2 targets for cars. According to ACEA, Europe should considerably sharpen its ambitions regarding charging infrastructure so that there are sufficient fast chargers in all EU Member States.
