According to the state-sponsored German National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE), Germany is likely to postpone its target of having 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2 years to 2022 even though the growth momentum continues. In 2017, new registrations of EVs doubled (+117%) to 131,000 and this figure keeps increasing in 2018 with 177,000 vehicles registered between January and August.
As of December 2017, 12,500 loading points (of which 850 fast charging stations with a capacity of more than 22 kW) were available in the country. Since 2017, all new charging points in Germany must be uniformly equipped with a Combined Charging System (CCS) and be barrier-free, i.e. without prior contractual commitment.
Germany is one leading European market for EVs and the NPE forecasts that domestic EV manufacturers will invest roughly €40bn in during the next 3-4 years. So far, 33 models of German origin are currently available on the domestic market and the model range is likely to triple by 2020. German EV manufacturers are expected to reach a market share that is at least comparable to conventional cars.