Germany now requires gas stations to provide EV charging stations. The latest mandate is a part of the country's increased EV incentive package. The timeline of the program, as well as its details and the type of chargers required, are not yet revealed, but the country received praises from EV advocates.
The latest stimulus program of Germany is a reward for electric vehicle owners and drivers and penalizes those still using diesel and gas vehicles. The country is now using the part of the 130 billion euro recovery allotment to have every gas station install electric vehicle charging stations. Even before the global health crisis, Germany's sales in EV faltered, and enthusiasts see this recent move as the country's effort to drive demand for electric vehicles.
In a recent report released by Reuters, it cited some of the primary reasons for the low consumer demand for electric vehicles in the country. Just like other countries, range anxiety is still something that consumers are currently dealing with in terms of electric cars. Although electric vehicles have significantly improved over the years in terms of range, the issue that EV charging stations are not as omnipresent as gas stations is still prevalent.
In an interview with Reuters, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Quercus Real Assets, Diego Biasi revealed that he is aware that 97% of the reasons why consumers are not buying electric vehicles is because of range anxiety. He noted that the country's move is a way to fix this anxiety, considering that a petrol station is always open. Germany has 14,118 gas stations and hopes that it could negate these issues and promote a cleaner means of transportation.
Germany aims to have at least 70,000 EV charging stations and 7,000 fast-charging stations dispersed across the country. These are the ideal figures needed to achieve a mass market for electric vehicles in Germany, according to BDEW, Germany's association for energy and water industries. The group reports that the country currently has around 28,000 stations.
Whoah. Germany is insisting all gas stations install electric car chargers. That's an extra 70,000+ chargers on the way.
I'll bet BP, Shell, OMV etc are thrilled about this... https://t.co/FsjJl219vV — Gavin Shoebridge (@KiwiEV) June 4, 2020
Charging an electric vehicle takes a longer time than refueling a car, but having EV charging ports in every gas station will provide electric vehicle owners more alternatives. Before this latest EV initiative, German Chancellor Angela Merkel already set a target of having a million electric vehicle charging stations scattered all over the country by 2030. With the country's current initiative, Germany will undoubtedly move faster in achieving this dream.
