German EV charging capacity rises 45% on year to 5.4 GW, EV sales fall behind

Germany's electric vehicle charging capacity rose 45% on the year in 2023 to 5.4 GW across 118,163 public charge points, utility association BDEW said May 2.

However, many charge points are underutilized as EV sales lag behind a trajectory to achieve 2030 climate targets with only 3% of Germany's registered cars (1.41 million) fully electric (BEV) at the start of 2024.

Another 3.3 million were so-called hybrids with 90% of German cars still conventional ICE motors.

"In order to achieve the goal of 15 million EVs by 2030, we need a new boost in registrations. To achieve this, we especially need more offerings that are affordable," BDEW managing director Kerstin Andreae said.

High EV purchase prices are the biggest barrier to entry, the BDEW said noting only three models are currently available under Eur30,000 ($32,100).

EV sales in the first quarter fell 14% year on year to 81,337 after a court ruling on the federal budget forced Berlin to remove support payments of up to Eur9,000/EV.

Ultra-fast charge points (above 150 kW) rose 50% on year to 12,014, according to BDEW's annual electro-mobility monitor.

EV essentials

"This year will be a testing one for the country's EV industry, as incentives for businesses and private buyers have been curtailed," analysts at S&P Global Commodity Insights said in their monthly EV Essentials report in April.

Previously, the analysts forecast annual German EV sales to rise above 1 million from 2025.

According to the BDEW, a higher CO2 fleet threshold coming into force in 2025 should keep 2024 sales relatively stable.

In 2023, some 524,000 pure BEVs were sold in Germany, KBA data show.

German auto association VDA predicted in January some 451,000 BEV and 185,000 PHEV sales this year in Germany.

Germany produced some 1.2 million EV in 2023 with only China ahead with 6.6 million, VDA said based on S&P Global Mobility data.

The International Energy Agency forecasts some 17 million EVs to be sold this year with China and Europe accounting for 80% of the total, it said in a report on April 23.

The global EV fleet consumed about 130 TWh of electricity in 2023 -- roughly the same as Norway's total annual electricity demand, but this is just 0.5% of the world's total final electricity consumption in 2023, the IEA said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed Lithium Carbonate CIF Europe at $14,800/mt on May 2.