Growth and progress for electric vehicles in Europe
In this article: Norway’s EV development | Sweden’s EV development | Germany’s EV development | UK’s EV development | Powerful Conversations
Today we celebrate World EV Day, the annual global celebration on 9 September to raise awareness of electric vehicles and the ways they benefit people and planet. Looking in the rear-view mirror on EV development in Europe, it has been driven by a range of factors, including government policies, technological improvements and the rise of public charging infrastructure. We have taken stock of the current data on EV development and adoption in Europe – and here is what we know on a general basis for the most attractive markets:
Read more about Mer, a World EV Day™ partner.
Norway: World’s best in EV adoption, behind on build-out
- Financial incentives for electric vehicles have made Norway over 25 percent ahead of the game of any other country, and the EV sales penetration rate is 87 percent.
- In September 2023, Norway had 7,000 public available fast chargers (50 kW+), which gives a coverage rate of 98 electric cars per fast charger. This leaves Norway short of “only” 2,000 more fast chargers to reach the Norwegian governments goal for 2025 (9,000 chargers).
By 2025, the Norwegian government aims to ensure that all new cars sold are zero-emission vehicles. However, there is a growing recognition that Norway’s charging infrastructure has not developed at the same pace. There is a home charge point for almost every EV, but the public charging system requires expansion with a vehicle-to-point ratio of 24.3 (global average of 15.9). Earlier in 2023, the government released its national charging strategy, which aims to address this.
Sweden: Lacking access to home charging
- As in Norway, the Swedish car drivers are at the forefront of making the shift from fossil-fueled to electric vehicles – with a sales penetration rate of 60 percent.
- Sweden has committed to a sales ban of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030, so the numbers are likely to rise.
- Vehicle-to-point ratio for public charging is currently 26.4.
Sweden struggles with an aging grid infrastructure, and charging possibilities that meets the needs. With a growing EV adoption, it is a challenge that a large part of the Swedish population may live in apartment buildings lacking access to private charging. In response, the transport department plan to make it easier for municipalities to ramp up public EV charging expansion, and offers different financial support options for private individuals, companies and public organizations to install charging stations. Several private companies are also looking at usability enhancements, to make it easier to book and use shared charging systems in multi-family residential solutions.
Germany: Potential to pioneer a new energy ecosystem
- EV affordability is a hurdle, but consumer interest and confidence continue to rise: Sales penetration rate is 37 percent, a significant jump from 24 percent in the first half of 2022.
- The public vehicle-to-point ratio is 26.1.
- Fast DC charge points in the public infrastructure stand for 16 percent, which is lower than the global average (22 percent).
- Customers are increasingly preferring charging solutions powered by renewable energy sources.
Just like the other countries mentioned in this article, Germany faces challenges in grid availability and charging infrastructure expansion. On the other side, the German market is dynamic. A variety of companies are trying to gain a share of the business, creating a new energy ecosystem. Germany has competitive advantages, is well placed to monetize on it and can play a pioneering role in developing a profitable new market. With new business areas emerging, such as vehicle-to-grid transfer, heat pumps, and power management and marketing on energy exchanges, this enhances the market’s legitimacy and drive further growth.
UK: Gaining pace in the EV race, but government plans possible setback
- The number of electric cars in the UK is growing at a rapid rate, and by end of August 2023 it counted for around 850,000 – with 20 percent of all new car registrations being electric vehicles.
- Since August last year, there has also been a 42 percent increase in the total number of charging devices. At the end of August 2023, there were 48,450 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, across 29,062 charging locations.
- There has been a 90 percent increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices across the country since August 2022.
The UK is adopting electric vehicles more quickly than many economies and has recovered from an unexpected slowdown late in 2021, brought on principally by supply effects. Several key market indicators, such as EV sales and charging infrastructure developments, hit record highs, despite still-high energy costs. There were also interesting shifts in the market dynamics of EV charging services and customer behavior.
With the market share of EVs in the UK already projected to exceed government targets, a weakening of the zero-emission vehicle target could lead to a decline in EV sales growth. If the UK government goes ahead with plans to slow the market transition on the grounds of saving jobs and potential investment, the UK could fall behind in EV dominance.
Powerful conversations
Statistics paint a picture of significant progress and growth in the European electric vehicle market over the past decade. Meanwhile, there are concerns about the sufficiency of public charging infrastructure to meet needs, particularly in rural areas. The European Commission recently proposed stricter emissions regulations for new cars and vans, aiming for a 55 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. This is expected to further drive the uptake of EVs in Europe.
Electrification and e-mobility are key levers for delivering zero emissions. But as the world moves towards greener energy sources, there is an ever-increasing demand for electricity across a range of industries. Particularly in transportation, but also from industries that are switching away from gas, oil and coal to electricity. All of which is giving rise to a new energy demand, leaving the energy infrastructure facing new challenges. During the next decade, we will need to build infrastructure for electric transportation and reliable power supply faster than we have done before. This demands radical new thinking around energy and providing access to energy.
«Businesses and policymakers must work together to ensure that everyone has access to reliable and sustainable electricity. Meeting the new energy demand calls for joined thinking, and conversations around energy security and introducing solar energy and battery storage into the solutions and more,» says Giles Benbow, senior manager business and partnership development, Mer.
For electric vehicles, access to power is clearly essential, and the most reliable source of energy is the grid. Over the past twenty years, energy efficiency methods have helped to reduce consumption while energy generation assets have maintained the capacity to generate.
«So, you would think that there is sufficient supply to meet demand. Not so. The new energy demand is going to put much more pressure on supply, and especially on distribution. Access to power via the local, regional distribution network operators is the biggest pinch point.»
Related article: How Mer is developing the EV charging infrastructure
Sources:
Roland Berger EV Charging Index, Insights from Norway
Roland Berger EV Charging Index, Insights from Sweden
Roland Berger EV Charging Index, Insights from Germany
Roland Berger EV Charging Index, Insights from UK
Elbil.no: 7000 hurtigladere i Norge
Energy Monitor ai: UK ahead of most EU Countries