According to a study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport (TRAN) and presented on Wednesday 3 June, public charging of electric vehicles is much more expensive than charging at home, lacks transparency and remains complex. This is to the point of compromising the economic case for buying an electric vehicle for users who do not have a charging solution at home or at their place of work, say the authors of the report.
The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) provides for price harmonisation, but implementation remains uneven. Prices for alternating current (AC) charging - the most widespread - vary between €0.27 and €0.65/kWh depending on the supplier, while direct current (DC) fast charging can cost more than €1/kWh in some markets.
This state of affairs is exacerbated by local monopoly conditions that limit competition and encourage high prices. The same is true of onshore power supply (OPS) in ports, which also faces the risk of excessive pricing.
This study is being presented at a time when the European Union is seeking to renew the European car fleet with low-emission vehicles, in particular by increasing the number of electric vehicles in company fleets (see EUROPE 13880/17) and setting targets for reducing emissions from light commercial vehicles (see EUROPE 13880/18).
To consult the study: https://aeur.eu/f/m6l (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)