Germany's public EV charging points: Analysing the 2023 state of expansion

The European Climate Law sets a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In this regard, in 2023 the EU Environmental Council decided that from 2035 onwards only CO₂-neutral new cars will be licensed in the European Union. Simultaneously, since the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fuel prices increased in Germany. This has made more and more households think about purchasing an e-car. However, not every household has the opportunity to install their own wallbox, and when travelling long distances, e-car users are dependent on the availability of ample public charging stations. Against this background, with a special focus on rural areas, this paper considers the questions whether and where spatial inequalities in the accessibility of public charging stations might currently exist. To approach these questions, based on an empirical analysis of the 2023 official location data of public charging points in Germany, we examine the nationwide distribution, accessibility and available capacity of public charging stations in Germany at small-scale from the point of view of the ‘household’ as well as those who travel by e-car within Germany. In order to evaluate the location data of public charging stations we mainly use raster-based accessibility analysis methods as well as isotropic kernel intensity estimates. We found that, in contrast to the common belief, the network of public charging stations is quite dense. However, taking a closer look reveals that the charging infrastructure in Germany has so far been tailored to the needs of intra-regional travelers (commuting, shopping, leisure) rather than to those of the residential population with no access to their own wallbox (daily recharging in close proximity to one‘s home) or the mid- to long-distance travelers.