Target 100,000 terminals
At the end of 2020, Barbara Pompili, French Minister for Ecological Transition, and Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate for Transport, met with players from the automotive, motorway, energy and retail industries, as well as local elected representatives, to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles and the development of the charging infrastructure network. Their objective: to install 100,000 charging stations open to the public. This target had been set in advance by the French President.
Strong growth in sales of electric vehicles
The year 2020 saw an increase in the adoption of electric vehicles throughout France and Europe. To support this trend, the French government introduced a highly attractive ecological bonus and maintained its tax policy to encourage more companies and individuals to adopt cleaner vehicles. By 2022, the French car fleet could include over a million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Read more - By 2022, France could have more than 1 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road.
The "Objective 100,000 terminals" charter
To support this acceleration, charging stations and their nationwide coverage must follow. The French government is therefore counting on the support of a number of players to achieve its objectives: local authorities, retailers, freeway companies, hoteliers and restaurateurs are all called upon to support this effort.
Read more - Stores and hypermarkets installing charging stations
During the consultation, a charter entitled "Objectif 100 000 bornes" was signed in the company of Barbara Pompili and Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, who praised the commitment of the players involved. E.Leclerc, LIDL, Système U, Green Yellow, Métropole du Grand Paris, FNCCR, as well as TOTAL, IZIVIA, ENGIE and ENEDIS have publicly expressed their support for this objective.
A series of measures to support the Target 100,000 kiosks plan
In order to support the deployment of the 100,000-terminal target, a series of additional measures had been decided on.
- A sharp increase in aid for electric charging stations : up to 60% of the cost of charging stations open to the public, i.e. aid ranging from €2,000 to €9,000, with a ceiling of €2,000 in 2020.
- Retrofit assistance for existing bollards
- A €100m budget for fast-charging stations on freeways and the national road network
- Setting up a state-guaranteed micro-credit scheme
- Crit'Air 2 vehicles no longer eligible for the conversion bonus
- The introduction of a €1,000 bonus for used electric vehicles.
But where do we stand today? Will the 100,000 milestone target be met?
Back in early 2021, a study by EY-Parthenon estimated that it would be difficult to reach the target of 100,000 public access charging stations by the end of 2021 in France.
"Even if we managed to double the number of charging stations installed in 2020 by 2021, France would only reach 60,000 units by the end of 2021. We'd have to install five times as many as in 2020 to meet the target set by the strategic industry contract," asserted Gianluigi Indino, partner at EY-Parthenon.
Objective of 100,000 terminals: 7% growth in just a few months
This is already the information to remember. 33,363 public charging points are currently in service in France.
According to Cécile Goubert, General Delegate of Avere-France, that's 7% more than since the start of the year. This brings the total number of private and public charging points in France to 451,803.
Source: Avere France
"As of May 1, 2021, France had 33,363 charging points open to the public, up +7% on our previous barometer (February 2021). While this increase marks a slight upturn in deployments compared with 2020, an acceleration seems increasingly necessary in view of deteriorating ratios of the number of vehicles per charging point. The publication of long-awaited regulatory texts, such as the revision of Decree No. 2017-26 of January 12, 2017 on charging infrastructures for electric vehicles, should open up a new dynamic."
Cécile Goubert, General Delegate, Avere-France
What is the revision of decree no. 2017-26 of January 12, 2017 on infrastructures?
The new decree on charging stations open to the public appeared in the Journal Officiel on May 4, 2021.
The most important information to remember: The revision of Decree No. 2017-26 of January 12, 2017 on charging infrastructure for electric vehicles buries the CHAdeMO standard requirement on fast charging stations. New charging stations installed or replaced until 2024, will have to have a minimum type 2 connector that can offer a minimum power of 22KW and a Combo2 connector enabling fast charging.
As a result, this new decree will save thousands of euros on each installation, and is expected to accelerate the rollout of fast charging stations.
The end of this obligation was not to the liking of the 1 million CHAdeMO vehicle owners. However, this clear-cut decision goes in the direction of the new vehicles put on the road, which already no longer use this technology.
Share of fast-charging points still low
- AC charging predominates: 30,788 charging points open to the public are AC (an increase of 6% compared with February 1, 2021).
- Direct current (DC) charging lags behind: 2,006 charging points. This represents a 26% increase on the last Avere barometer.
- Only 569 charging points deliver both AC and DC current.
So there's still a long way to go, but with the announced aid and deconfinement in Europe, there's still hope of reaching the 100,000-terminal target by the end of 2021.
Europe must commit to the installation of charging stations
The lack of charging infrastructure is not just a French problem. In Germany, the VDA is calling for more charging stations.
What is the VDA?
The Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA, literally Union of the Automotive Industry) is a body responsible for defining the standards used in the automotive industry in the German area of influence.
The survey published by the VDA shows that 17 cars now have to share a public charging point, compared with 13 six months ago. It should be noted that this survey does not take into account private recharging points (at home or in the workplace), but the finding is clear: more fast recharging points need to be installed.
A recent study has shown that theinstallation of charging stations is a sine qua non if electric vehicles are to replace combustion-powered vehicles in Europe in the medium to long term.
Read more - Inflection point: Electric vehicles cheaper than combustion engines by 2025
In conclusion, we need to step up the pace if we are to reach our target of 100,000 charging stations by the end of 2021. It should be pointed out that the health crisis has not helped the deployment of recharging infrastructures.
It would not be surprising if the subsidies were renewed next year to achieve this ambitious objective. And let's not forget the very fast recharging points that are so much in demand among motorists.
To read - Good news! Fastned will soon be installed on French freeways
