Calls for More EV Chargers Disregards Possible Flat Demand

Philip Oakley

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9th January 2020

It has been claimed that there will need to be 15 times more EV chargers in the EU by 2030 if it is to go climate neutral, according to newly-released analysis.

However, that assumes the EV fleet will be as big as predicted by the Transport & Environment group, which published the analysis. While sales of pure all-electric cars are increasing, they still comprise a tiny percentage of overall annual vehicle sales.

In Q3 2019, just 73,137 BEVs were sold in the EU. While that’s an increase of more than 125% compared to Q3 2018, it’s still a fraction of total car sales. Gasoline-powered vehicle sales alone amounted to 2.1M, an increase of 6.1% compared to Q3 2018.

The analysis claims that there will be need to be three million publicly available chargers by 2030 to satisfy the demand while there are only 185,000 in use today. The group has suggested that charging at home or work must be encouraged, to free up as many public chargers are possible. It also recommended around 20-30% of the publicly available chargers must be in disadvantaged or low population density areas in an attempt to evenly spread the availability and ensure every EV owner can charge their vehicle – a delusional argument considering the enormous gulf in prices of affordable ICE vehicles against expensive EVs.