BDEW E-Mobility Monitor: Charging Stations - Expansion Top, Utilization Flop

The fourth edition of the BDEW Electric Mobility Monitor highlights the developments in the electric mobility market in 2023 and analyzes new e-car registrations in the first quarter of 2024. The year 2023 was the second consecutive record year for the expansion of public charging stations. A total of 32,733 public charging points were added, bringing the total to 118,163 charging points as of January 1, 2024. This is an increase of nearly 40 percent. Germany also made significant gains in charging capacity: it increased from 3.7 gigawatts (GW) in January 2023 to 5.4 GW in January of this year – an increase of around 45 percent.

This means that the German charging market surpasses the new European minimum targets for installed charging capacity by double. The overachievement of the new European minimum targets is reflected in a consistently low occupancy rate of the charging stations: on a nationwide average, charging stations were only 12.5 percent occupied. The occupancy of charging stations varies regionally and ranges between 3 to 23 percent. However, it shows a high availability across the board: in only one out of five districts, the occupancy of public charging points is above the average of 12.5 percent, meaning that in 314 out of 400 districts, it's even lower.
 

Tightening of Fleet Limits Likely to Drive E-Mobility

On the vehicle side, 2023 saw a slight increase in new registrations of electric cars, with 524,291 new registrations. In the first quarter of 2024, i.e., the first quarter without the environmental bonus, new registrations at 81,337 electric cars were significantly lower than in the first quarter of 2023 (94,726), but only slightly below Q1 2022 (83,672). However, the average CO2 emissions of new registrations in the first quarter of 2024 are almost exactly on the level of the three previous years, during which the same CO2 fleet limits applied. The next tightening of CO2 fleet limits is scheduled for 2025, which is expected to result in an expansion of the range of electric cars, according to the association. However, a closer look at the supply side reveals that affordable models for the mass market are also lacking in addition to the discontinuation of the environmental bonus. Thus, the number of electric models in the mini, small car, and compact class segments remains low, while the selection in SUV, transporter, and luxury class segments continues to increase.

“The good news is: E-mobility continues to be on a good path in Germany. In particular, the expansion of the public charging infrastructure is making great strides: Last year, the record levels of 2022 were even exceeded in terms of both quantity and performance. The industry is continuing to expand boldly despite the low occupancy rate,” explains Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board.