Public e-car charging points in Germany increase by more than 50 percent in a year

The number of public charging points for electric cars in Germany has increased from 13,500 to 20,650 in one year, according to energy industry group BDEW. Taking into account the amount of electric passenger cars registered in the country, this supply of public infrastructure is "entirely sufficient", BDEW concludes. The industry group adds, however, that there is an "urgent need" to expand private charging infrastructure as 85 percent of charging happens at home or at the workplace. Introducing legislation to allow all apartment owners and tenants to install charging infrastructure – as long as they provide the necessary funds - "would not cost a cent, but bring electric mobility a big step forward," said BDEW head Stefan Kapferer.

The swift expansion of charging infrastructure is seen as a key condition for the success of electric mobility. But according to a recent study by the influential ADAC automobile association, most residents of German apartment buildings are unable to charge an electric car at home. But Berlin start-up ubitricity believes this problem could be overcome at fairly low cost, because its mobile metering system can transform street lights into charging points. While Germany has so far failed to meet its national targets for the rollout of e-cars, the country’s biggest carmakers now all have ambitious plans to ramp up output and sales of electric vehicles in the 2020s, which could lead to an estimated demand of up to four million charging points.