Europe needs a million public vehicle charging points inside three years and three million by 2029, car makers have told European governments.
Latest figures suggest there are under 230,000 at the moment but car makers are pouring huge investments into evs and say the public network needs to grow and give confidence to buyers who have still to make the switch.
ACEA, the car makers’ body, said in a press release today, “The EU Commission quickly needs to take action and set binding targets for the ramp-up of charging infrastructure in the member states,” quoting ACEA president Oliver Zipse, who is also chief executive of German carmaker BMW.
“Otherwise, even the current reduction targets in fighting climate change are at risk,” he said.
Governments have set goals to push up EV use and end sales of petrol and diesel cars but the transition has been slower due to rising costs, the coronavirus pandemic and the comparatively small number of charging points.
Within the charging network there is also a range of options from those which push out power at the rate of a domestic line to very high capacity chargers but these come at a cost.
Although most regularly used cars could complete a day’s commute on an overnight charge there is a perceived anxiety about running out of battery power and drivers need the confidence of knowing they can recharge quickly anywhere they go.
Oil and petrol companies have moved into the power generation market alongside specialist point suppliers and this has also created an array of payment methods instead of a uniform credit card payment method as for other commodities.