All Petrol Stations In Germany Will Be Required To Provide Electric Vehicle Charging

All petrol stations in Germany will be required to offer electric vehicle charging points to boost consumer demand and address EV refuelling concerns as part of the government's post Coronavirus or Covid-19 economic recovery plan.

As Europe's economic powerhouse attempts to avert a deep recession, it has vowed to pump €130 billion ($146 billion) towards an enhanced economic recovery plan which includes providing a significant boost to EV demand alongside other broader stimulus measures.

The government has also unveiled a €6,000 subsidy towards the cost of an EV putting Germany among the European market leaders in battery electric vehicle support. The previous level was half of the current subsidy being offered.

In 2019, EVs constituted less than 2% of new vehicle registrations in Germany, while petrol vehicles led the market with a near 60% market share. Further stimulus measures announced by the German government a include €2.5 billion research and development grant for battery cell production and charging infrastructure.

A spokesperson for BMVI, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, said the move was a "natural course of direction" following Chancellor Angela Merkel's unveiling of a goal of having "a million electric charging stations across Germany by 2030."

A recent assessment by German Association of Energy – BDEW – concluded that at least 70,000 charging stations and 7,000 fast charging stations are required in order to create a mass market for EVs in Germany.

The number currently stands at 27,730 charging stations as of March 2020, it added, indicative of the magnitude of the task Germany faces to address range anxiety that turns people off EVs.

The move follows similar overtures elsewhere in Europe, with Norway largely deemed as the country with the most ambitious subsidy and support regime.

The range and field of service providers is also rapidly broadening to include technology vendors such as ABB, automakers like Audi, VW, Toyota, Nissan and Tesla TSLA , oil and gas majors including Royal Dutch Shell, and several European utilities.