VW Expands German EV Charging to Meet Demand
Volkswagen is claiming to have seen a boom in demand for EV charging points in its domestic outlets.
In response it says it will be significantly expanding the charging infrastructure at its ten German sites with around 750 new charging points planned for the coming year, including the first High Power Charging stations with up to 300 kW power. It claims about 2,000 charging points in total are expected to be in operation by the end of 2021 – an increase of more than 50% currently available.
The biggest charging park, available both to employees and the general public, with some 500 charging points is located in Wolfsburg. Further parks have been installed in Hanover, Brunswick, Salzgitter, Kassel, Emden, Osnabrück, Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden. In the last twelve months, Volkswagen recorded more than 50,000 charging operations at its sites in spite of the pandemic. The power comes exclusively from renewable energy sources.
Thomas Ulbrich, member of the board of management of Volkswagen responsible for e-mobility, said: “We need significantly more charging points in Germany and Europe if electric vehicles are to establish themselves quickly. For that reason, all players from the fields of politics and industry must continue their efforts in the coming year.”
In future, every Volkswagen dealer in Germany will provide at least one AC charger with 11 kW power and one DC charger with 22 kW power. In addition, the group pledges to engage worldwide in setting up fast-charging networks – via Ionity in Europe, Electrify America in the USA and CAMS in China.
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
