Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. In 2022, the number of fully electric passenger cars in the EU increased by 58 per cent compared to 2021 – from 1.9 million to 3.1 million.
Between 2019 and 2022, this number soared by more than 400 per cent.
This is a hugely significant step for energy in terms of transitioning towards net zero as the impact of climate change has been particularly evident with increasing temperature changes in recent years.
While electric passenger cars and other electric vehicles will be key for decarbonising the transport sector, a more expansive charging infrastructure is needed to encourage uptake.
“Access to charging is a significant concern,” a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published in June underlines.
A third of respondents in six European countries – France, the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands – reported that there were no charging stations for electric cars within 3 km of their homes, according to the OECD’s 2022 Environmental Policies and Individual Behaviour Change Survey.
This rate ranged from 22 per cent in the Netherlands to 43 per cent in France, closely followed by Belgium (42 per cent).
On the other hand, 24 per cent of respondents in these European countries said that they did not know whether charging stations were available close to their homes or not.
A quarter of them reported that there are charging stations available at home, at work or in car parks, with another 18 per cent stating that charging stations for electric cars were available within 3 km of their homes.
Some evidence suggests that range anxiety and other concerns about electric car use largely dissipate when a vehicle owner makes the switch to an electric car, according to the OECD’s recently published ‘How Green is Household Behaviour? Sustainable Choices in a Time of Interlocking Crises’ report (which was based on the 2022 survey mentioned above).
Post time: Sep-25-2024
