The European Commission has observed “positive developments” in the deployment of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, Eric von Breska, Deputy Director-General for Innovative and Sustainable Transport (DG MOVE), told the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism on Tuesday 24 February. However, he felt that the “number of recharging points still needs to be doubled over the next five years”.
Compared with the previous year, Mr von Breska said that the situation regarding the implementation of the ‘AFIR’ regulation on the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels had not changed much.
Nevertheless, electric vehicle users are benefiting from “an increasingly better situation regarding recharging services”. Heavy goods vehicle drivers in particular still lack charging stations, and rural areas have too few facilities. The Deputy Director General pointed out that AFIR only sets minimum targets, and that the Commission is “relying above all on the market to provide the necessary recharging infrastructure”.
In addition, he mentioned that there were significant disparities between Member States, which worried MEPs. They also asked the board of inquiry to investigate price transparency.
Finally, Mr von Breska explained that charging stations were showing rather low utilisation rates. “This obviously represents a challenge for recharging operators, as some infrastructures clearly cannot be operated profitably at present,” he pointed out. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)