The EV charging infrastructure in Europe

The EV growth wave is moving from the North-West to the South-East of Europe

There's a growing number of EVs in all European countries, but the most developed countries lie in North-West Europe. The other countries in Europe fall further behind, the farther they are situated in the South-East.

Scandinavian countries lead the charge with the Netherlands only slightly behind, as tracked by AFIR.  Germany and France do slightly worse with a slightly above average penetration. However, Southern countries lag behind with only Portugal being the positive exception, especially when we compare them with neighbouring country Spain.

EV penetration per country

The usage per EV charging point in Poland and Spain is lower than in any other country

There is already a decent number of EV chargers installed in Poland and Spain. Too much, compared to the current EVs on the road as it’s causing a low usage per charging point compared to other countries with more EVs on the road. Despite large growth expected in the next 5 years due to the countries’ target numbers, Poland and Spain are currently suffering from an oversupply.

However, Spain can expect an influx of EVs in the form of tourism from other European countries, while Poland from electric high duty vehicles (e-HDV). The e-HDVs will most likely charge partially on car chargers, especially in its early days. 

Which countries and regions lack ultrafast EV chargers?

Looking at the mix of slow, fast, and ultrafast chargers, we see three times less ultrafast than fast chargers for electric vehicles in Spain, Portugal and Poland. 

In countries with a stronger EV adoption, we usually see more ultrafast chargers than fast chargers. In general this is because ultrafast chargers are more popular than fast chargers and have the highest utilization per charging point in all countries in our data.

The low amount of ultrafast chargers in Poland and Iberia, however, is due to an electric grid with capacity challenges. In general, multiple countries face challenges when it comes to installing charging points to the grid. The most common issues are high installation costs, insufficient capacity for high power chargers or slow approval processes.

As ultrafast chargers are very popular with EV drivers, it could hinder the future EV adoption in these countries. So better grid solutions or smart charging solutions should be found in the coming years.

In every country, the AC Charging points are represented most in the mix, with the Netherlands and Belgium leading in this aspect. In both countries, over 90% of all charging points are AC chargers. The Netherlands also leads with the most (117.7k) AC Charging points of any country in the analysis, but this reliance on AC also reflects a deeper issue rooted in its electric grid.

The Netherlands suffer from large electricity grid congestion problems

Not only Poland and Iberia, but also the Netherlands have grid congestion problems. In the Netherlands, where EV adoption is already relatively high, the situation is becoming worrisome. Congestion on the grid has not only resulted in a limited number of both ultrafast and fast chargers. This congestion is not surprising as the Dutch have the most power consuming EV fleet of the entire analysis and because the high-voltage infrastructure in the country was less prepared for the rapid growing grid demand than in other countries. 

However, every problem brings opportunities and a lot of initiatives are taking place in the Netherlands to find solutions:

• Dynamic prices for electricity
• Smart charging solutions
• Local energy supply with micro grids

The outcome of all these ongoing experiments and innovation initiatives in the Netherlands will be interesting to follow in the coming years.

Big public charging pricing differences between European countries

The pricing policies of EV charging in Europe varies greatly, influenced by local energy production and market conditions. 

On the one hand we see that France and Spain are cheap with ultrafast charging prices between 43 and 47 cents per KWh. This is thanks to the large production capacity of cheaper electricity.

On the other hand, countries such as Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have the highest prices with prices between 62 and 73 cents per KWh. In these countries high prices might also endanger further adoption of EVs in the coming years. 

Not all countries charge higher prices for ultrafast EV charging

Ultrafast chargers can charge car batteries in less than 1 hour, bringing extra convenience and attraction to EV car drivers. On top, these chargers are also much more expensive to install, making it logical that they are 5 to 10 cents per KWh more expensive on average than regular fast chargers.

But in several countries such as The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Belgium, UK, France and Poland, CPOs don’t yet include this convenience bonus in their pricing policies. In other countries, like Germany, Spain and Italy, the convenience bonus ranges from 5 to 8 cent surplus.

The prices shown are excluding VAT.

Conclusion

Europe’s EV charging market is expanding quickly but unevenly. Northwestern countries lead adoption, while Southern and Eastern regions lag behind. Oversupply, grid congestion, and big price differences create clear challenges, but also opportunities. How each country tackles these issues will shape the future of EV mobility across Europe.

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