Friday, September 10, 2021

LAGGARD IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES - DATA IN OTHER COUNTRIES

 Filenews 10 September 2021 - by Chrysanthos Manolis



It is probably not surprising that the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has published figures on the number of electric charging points for cars per 100 km in EU countries, but also on the share of electric vehicles in the markets of the Member States. However, although expected, the ranking of Cyprus in the middle of the list of ten countries that do not have a single charging point per 100 km is a cause for concern.

We will probably remain in the low positions, since the high selling prices of electric vehicles in Cyprus and the absence of substantial incentives for consumers to choose them does not create expectations that there will soon be a shift in buyers' preferences, nor a significant increase in the installation of charging points. The question that concerns is whether it is the increase in charging points that will bring more electric vehicles to the roads or whether it is the purchase of more such vehicles that will also increase charging points...

According to the study and the table published yesterday by ACEA, Cyprus has only 0.5 charging points per 100 km and is in the middle of the list of countries with the fewest stations. In the same table are Lithuania and Greece (0.2 stations per 100 km), Poland (0.4), Latvia and Romania (0.5, as well as Cyprus), Hungary (0.6), Estonia (0.7), Bulgaria (0.8) and the Czech Republic (0.9).

The European country with the most charging stations per 100 km is the Netherlands (47.5) followed by Luxembourg (34.5), Germany (19.4), Portugal (14.9), Austria (6.1), Belgium (5.5), Italy (5.1), Sweden (5), Denmark (4.4) and France (4.1).

Cyprus is also lagging behind in terms of the share of electric vehicles in the total (0.5%) and is the lowest percentage, although for Malta and Bulgaria no figures are given. Just above Cyprus are Lithuania (1.1%), Estonia (1.8%), Croatia and Poland (1.9%). The share of electric cars in Greece is 2.6%.

The country with the highest proportion of electric vehicles is Sweden (32.2%), followed by the Netherlands (25%), Finland (18.1%) and Denmark (16.4%).

Commission pushes for mass use of electric cars

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), as part of the Fit for 55 climate package, published in July, the European Commission has proposed that by 2030 CO2 emissions from new cars should be 55% below 2021 levels - compared to the 37.5% target for 2030 set just three years ago.

"Consumers will not be able to switch vehicles with zero emissions if there are not enough charging and refuelling stations along the roads where they drive," warned ACEA's director-general, Eric-Mark Huitema. "For example, if the citizens of Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Romania have to travel 200 kilometres or more to find a charger, we cannot expect them to be willing to buy an electric car," Huitema explained.