The EV Shift
The automotive sector is witnessing a much-needed shift from the traditional way to sustainable energy. Many of the leading automakers have planned to leave the petrol and natural gas vehicles behind and turn to electric cars instead. Currently, Tesla dominates the Electric car market. Some other big names include Polestar. The Volvo owned luxury sedan.
You also have other automakers such as Nissan, Chevrolet, and Hyundai who are gearing up to shift to EVs. The point is, in the next few years, we may see electric vehicles substituting the combustion ones, and for good!Â
The Issue
But the issue at hand is that there are not many EV power stations to support the transition from petrol engines to electric ones. Take one of the most developed continents, for instance, Europe! Currently, there are over Two hundred thousand EV charging stations. Based on a report, it was estimated to be 224,538 public charging points last year.
Looking at how the world is adapting to electric vehicles, the number of public charging stations won’t be enough. Furthermore, having sufficient public EV charging points will boost the confidence of people to shift towards this much needed sustainable move.
The Letter to EU
Keeping this in mind, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) wrote a letter to the European Union, along with consumer and sustainable transport groups, that to promote the shift towards the new technology, it’s imperative that the EU works on creating at least 1 million public charging points by 2024. The numbers should triple in the next five years, which is 2029, to 3 million.
EU should target 🎯 1 million #EV public chargers by 2024 🔌 say @ACEA_eu carmakers, @transenv environmentalists and @beuc consumer groups | PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/yCD8Uu5E8R #AFID #EUGreenDeal pic.twitter.com/EKD7dYka1S
— ACEA (@ACEA_eu) February 11, 2021
ACEA’s President –
The Chairman of the Management Board of the German automobile, BMW, Oliver Zipse, who also holds the post of the President of ACEA, had an interesting take on the issue –
“The EU Commission quickly needs to take action and set binding targets for the ramp-up of charging infrastructure in the member states. Otherwise, even the current reduction targets in fighting climate change are at risk.”
The EV transformation has gained steady momentum over the last few years. People are getting aware of the advantages of electric vehicles. The shift is also credited to the fact that Administrations are taking climate change seriously and are making policies around it. Governments are also giving subsidies to promote this shift towards electric vehicles.
Support from others
Hence, this momentum mustn’t be halted or even slowed down due to a lack of EV charging points. It has been noticed that the current pace of rollout of public charging points in Europe is slow. Hence, ACEA has urged the commissions to speed up the process. The letter was further signed and supported by the Transport & Environment (T&E) caucus and BEUC.
The German administration has already decided to step up. They will spend around 2 billion euros to create 1000 fast charging points near the highways by 2023.
Also, read if the EV shift can combat the Climate challenge?