Global electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint numbers are over six times behind where they need to be to meet demand.
Figures released for World EV Day have shown that the UK needs a near 350% increase in the number of installed EV chargepoints to hit its 300,000 charger installation target by 2030, with the current number of chargepoints sitting at just over under 75,000. In order to hit this target, research consultancy Cornwall Insight has calculated that the UK needs to install an average of 1,300 new EV chargers per month, over double the current rate.
While this is a significant increase, it is dwarfed by the percentage increases that need to be achieved in other global markets in order to hit their own EV chargepoint targets. In the US, the world’s second largest EV market, over one million more chargepoints need to be installed by the end of the decade to meet demand, according to data from consultancy firm McKinsey. This represents a 550% increase in chargepoints across the US, which has fewer than 200,000 available public chargepoints.
In Europe, a 5.5-fold increase in chargepoint numbers across the continent is needed to hit 2030 targets set by the European Commission. Currently, there are 630,000 public chargepoints in operation across the EU, with a target of 3.5 million set for 2030. According to the European Vehicle Manufacturers Association (ACEA), reaching this target requires installing almost 8,000 new EV chargers each week or 410,000 each year, almost triple the current annual installation rate across the bloc.
Om Shankar, vice president and general manager of chargepoint operator Konect, said: “At current installation rates, key global EV markets won’t meet the public charging infrastructure needed to meet growing EV demand. We know that most EV drivers currently plug in at home, but there’s a second cohort of buyers, beyond the early adopters, that don’t have the same facilities.
“As EV technology improves, costs go down and range goes up – more people will make the switch. We must match this progress with the right amount of readily available public charging. We need some logical thinking on the placement of new charge points – ideally, locations that are already familiar and convenient for car drivers. That’s the golden opportunity for the existing fuel retail network.”
