European carmakers believe they are on the cusp of a surge in demand for EVs. Europe already has a network of nearly 72,000 public charging stations for EVs, but most are so slow they take hours for a meaningful charge.
The International Energy Agency says only about 5,800 European charging stations are “fast,” which it defines as charging at a rate of 43 kW or more, the equivalent of operating 90 washing machines simultaneously. The fastest chargers in widespread use on the continent so far are the more than 1,800 installed so far by Tesla. At 120 kW, they still need half an hour to give a car enough power to drive 270km.
As the market for EVs grows, traditional carmakers are going to find it easier to catch up with Tesla. Installing thousands of fast chargers across the globe will require billions of dollars in investment and offer an opportunity to manufacturers. The car consortium’s new fast chargers will cost about 200,000 euros each.
