As part of the country’s economic recovery plan, Germany will soon require all gas stations to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The requirement is meant to relieve fears around range anxiety and increase consumer demand for EVs.
Also included in Germany’s $146 billion economic recovery plan is a change to include additional taxes on the purchases of gas guzzling internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. There will also be a new €6,000 subsidy for EV purchases (via Reuters Canada).
Currently EVs make up only 1.8% of new passenger vehicle sales in Germany. In contrast, Canada’s EV market share set a new record in March 2020 at 5.6%.
Supporters of the changes to boost EV demand, like Diego Biasi, chairman and co-founder in Quercus Real Assets said it will have real impacts on how people perceive EVs and the ever-present range anxiety.
“We know that 97% of the reason why they’re not buying electric cars is range anxiety. The German move is a way to try and fix this range anxiety since it means you know a petrol station is always open.”
According to BDEW, Germany’s association for the energy and water industry, the country would need 70,000 EV charging stations, and an additional 7,000 fast charging stations for mass market adoption. Germany currently has a little more than 27,000 EV charging stations.
Petro-Canada recently completed it’s ‘Electric Highway’, a network of fast chargers across Canada. While these are not at every gas station, they are strategically placed to ensure one can travel from coast-to-coast in an EV.
