The target of 100,000 open charging stations for electric cars in France, initially set for 2021, should be reached in the second quarter of 2023, SMEs minister Olivia Grégoire said on Tuesday. France had about 83,000 charging points at the end of 2022, after an accelerated deployment (+53%) throughout the year, according to the barometer of the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere).
“The goal of 100,000 terminals should be reached in the second quarter of 2023,” said Olivia Grégoire during a debate in the Senate on the electric car.
“We were a bit late, I don’t deny it: the context was a bit difficult,” said the minister, citing in particular the shortage of electronic chips that has hit the auto industry for two years.
Third most equipped European country
France is the third most equipped country in Europe behind the Netherlands and Germany, which have half of the terminals. On highways, all areas of the APRR and AREA networks are already equipped, as required by law. The areas of the Sanef network are 85% equipped and those of the Vinci network should all be equipped by the end of 2023. Nearly 90% of the charging points offer slow charging, according to the Avere barometer, and less than 7% They offer recharging power greater than 150 kW, which allows a vehicle’s batteries to be fully charged in a few tens of minutes.
While new vehicles will be 100% electric in Europe by 2035, the auto industry is insisting on rolling out charging stations for electric vehicles. If motorists mainly charge at home, these public terminals are essential to reassure them on long trips.
The share of electric cars continued to grow on the French market in 2022, reaching 13% of total registrations, compared to 10% the previous year. Olivia Grégoire also indicated that the government would present “in March” a plan to develop retrofitting, which consists of converting thermal vehicles to electric ones.
Source: BFM TV
