Charging Network Ranking: an Overview

The gap between supply and demand for public charging infrastructure for electric cars (E-cars) in Germany has become smaller. However, there are still large differences between communities and the need for action in expanding charging infrastructure in Germany overall remains great. This is shown by the evaluation published today by the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the so-called VDA E-charging network ranking*.

As of July 1, 2024, there are 142,793 publicly accessible charging points in Germany, including 30,048 fast charging points** (source: Federal Network Agency). This means that as of July 1, there will be an average of 17 electric cars per publicly accessible charging point in Germany. Thus the gap between supply and demand in public charging infrastructure for electric cars, which has existed for years and which grew gradually from 2020 to 2022, has become smaller again: In the last VDA e-charging network ranking, as of July 1, 2023, there were still 21 electric cars on one public charging point, and on January 1, 2023 there were 23 electric cars.

As of the deadline for the new VDA e-charging network ranking (July 1, 2024), the Federal Network Agency reports 45,298 more public charging points than in the last ranking (as of July 1, 2023)***. The expansion of charging points was particularly dynamic in Berlin, where 2,053 public charging points were added. In Stuttgart there were added 1,456, and in Frankfurt am Main 1,130.

The charging power plays an important role in the charging time. At fast charging points, significantly more electric cars can be charged in the same amount of time than at normal charging points. If we look at the charging power that is available on average per electric car in Germany to reflect the expansion of the publicly accessible charging infrastructure, the VDA analysis shows that this has increased: in July of last year, statistically speaking, 1.7kW was available per electric car in Germany, but exactly one year later it was 2.1kW. The background to this development is that more and more fast charging points with high charging power were being added. 11,471 of the totally added 45,298 public charging points were fast charging points, with an annual growth rate of 62% and thus significantly higher than the increase in normal charging points (+43%). The addition of high-performance charging points over 149kW was particularly rapid, with 8,699 new charging points (+77%).

Although charging capacity is an important factor, the availability of local charging options is also absolutely important for consumers, as this is crucial for people in their everyday lives. However, the VDA analysis shows that in just over a third (35%) of all 10,752 municipalities, there is still not a single public charging point. Almost three quarters of all municipalities (73%) have not yet installed a public fast-charging point. The fact that expansion has been pushed forward is also reflected here: In the last VDA e-charging network ranking (as of July 1, 2023), almost every second municipality in Germany had no public charging point and 8 out of 10 municipalities had no public fast-charging point.

VDA President Hildegard Müller: "A sufficient and efficient charging infrastructure is a key factor in getting people excited about switching to e-mobility. The expansion of the charging infrastructure must therefore support the success of e-mobility in Germany in the first place and be further promoted politically. The results of our evaluation show that something is happening and that the expansion of the charging infrastructure for e-cars is finally moving forward - this is good news for e-mobility in Germany and consumers. It must now continue like this, because there is still a long way to go: one in three municipalities still has no public charging point. And when it comes to fast-charging infrastructure, despite the increased pace of expansion, three out of four municipalities in Germany still have no public fast-charging point. There is still a lot of catching up to do. This is why, among other things, the expansion of the locations of the so-called Germany network with more than 1,000 fast-charging parks must be continued with determination and completed as planned in 2026.

One thing is also clear: it is not enough to simply set up a charging station. The electricity grids also urgently need to be made fit for the future. Accelerated and forward-looking expansion of the electricity grid - that is, one that is geared to future needs - is the decisive prerequisite for expanding the charging infrastructure. Germany has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to electricity grids. They urgently need to be expanded and modernized. There is an additional urgent need for action here from politicians, the Federal Network Agency and the energy industry."

Müller continued: "When it comes to further expanding the charging infrastructure in Germany, all relevant stakeholders must do their part, including petrol station operators, the housing industry, parking space companies, retailers, charging point operators, above all the energy industry and, of course, the automotive industry. One thing is clear: the automotive industry is making a determined contribution to the success of electromobility now and in the future with innovations and high investments. Companies in the automotive industry are already involved in many projects, such as Ionity and Milence, which are driving forward the development of charging infrastructure for passenger cars and commercial vehicles respectively. Thus they are also continuously advancing the development and expansion of the charging infrastructure. We will continue this commitment."

The VDA e-charging network ranking is a statistical evaluation based on official data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the Federal Network Agency. What is reported here is included in the evaluation, which is divided into three areas:

The T-value (following the link you will find a list of all cities and municipalities with data details) indicates how many electric cars share a publicly accessible charging point. There is a new leader here: Emden (Lower Saxony), which was in second place in the last VDA e-charging network ranking. Emden has the best ratio of electric cars to public charging points for electric cars in Germany. There are just 4.5 electric cars per public charging point. This means that Emden, which took first place in the penultimate VDA e-charging network ranking, has reclaimed first place from Ingolstadt.

New on the podium: Heilbronn (Baden-Württemberg), which has moved up three places, and the Oder-Spree district (Brandenburg), where the number of public charging points has increased almost fivefold within a year. In both Heilbronn and the Oder-Spree district, there are 4.7 electric cars per public charging point.

If you look at the charging offer at the federal state level, it becomes clear that Saxony once again has the best ratio of electric cars to public charging points. As in the last VDA e-charging network ranking, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia follow in second and third place. Of course, there are also structural differences in the federal states, for example the number of electric cars in the new federal states is still comparatively low. This is followed by Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin, which has moved up two places. Then: Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, where, as in the German average, there are 17.3 electric cars per public charging point. The states that follow behind (in this order: Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland) are each below the national average with their values, but as is the case for all federal states, they have also improved their ratio of public charging points to electric cars compared to the previous ranking. This means that the charging options for people who use an electric car are greater in all countries than they were a year ago.

The A-value (following the link you will find a list of all cities and municipalities with data details) represents the general attractiveness of the charging network in the district or city. For this purpose, the number of publicly accessible charging points is compared to all cars registered in the district or city, regardless of their type of drive. The value therefore shows how attractive the district or city is for switching to electromobility. Ingolstadt (Bavaria) is at the top of the A-value ranking, followed by Heilbronn and Stuttgart (both Baden-Württemberg).

The S-value (behind the link you will find a list of the federal states with data details) shows how many electric cars statistically share a fast-charging point. Because of the still comparatively low distribution, only a statistical evaluation at the federal state level makes sense here. The VDA e-charging network ranking shows: The national average for the S-value is 82.4. In other words: In Germany, on average, there are a good 82 electric cars per fast-charging point. This value has improved significantly since the last VDA e-charging network ranking; as of July 1, 2023, it was still 110.8.

As in the last evaluation, the first three places in the S-value in the current ranking are occupied by the states of Thuringia (34.7), Saxony-Anhalt (40.5), and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (45.6). This also reflects structural differences in the federal states - in the new federal states, the number of electric cars is still comparatively low. This is followed by Saxony, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Bremen, Berlin, and North Rhine-Westphalia. NRW added the most fast-charging points compared to the last evaluation, with 2,238. Next are Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, and Hesse. Saarland has doubled the number of its fast-charging points to 248 within a year, but remains at the bottom of the list.

 

* The VDA charging network ranking is based on data from the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) on the number of charging points in German districts and cities as of July 1, 2024, and from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on the number of cars and electric cars, also as of July 1, 2024. More recent data on the car fleet is not available. Although the Federal Network Agency provides more recent data for public charging points in Germany (145,857 charging points, of which 31,063 are fast charging points as of September 1, 2024), for reasons of statistical comparability the same date (July 1, 2024) must be used for public charging points and the car fleet.

** According to the definition of the Federal Network Agency, electricity can be charged at a fast charging point with a charging capacity of more than 22 kilowatts.

*** The figures as of July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024 are compared here based on the data available from the Federal Network Agency at the time of publication of the VDA charging network rankings. Any subsequent reports are not taken into account in order not to impair the comparability of the data.