In the future, it should be easier for anyone who drives an electric car to find a charging point. The federal government wants to oblige large petrol station operators to offer charging stations. The industry is reminded of a planned economy.
From the federal government’s point of view, there are currently too few fast charging stations for electric cars at petrol stations. It is therefore planning to introduce a supply requirement for large petrol station chains. The federal cabinet initiated a corresponding change in the law.
According to the plan, companies with at least 200 filling stations will have to operate at least one publicly accessible fast-charging point with an output of at least 150 kilowatts at each filling station from January 1, 2028. About a dozen companies are expected to be affected by the obligation, according to a paper from the Ministry of Transport. The existing stock will be taken into account.
The draft law states that the justification for the supply requirement is that the expansion of fast-charging infrastructure at petrol stations has already begun. “However, this has not yet been done across the board and is regionally heterogeneous.”
The federal government is planning a so-called flexibility mechanism. According to this, a company can implement the requirements differently for a maximum of 50 percent of its filling stations. For example, a fast-charging point could be built at a location within a radius of 1,000 meters. Or an additional charging station could be built at another filling station. In addition, a hardship regulation should apply if economically unreasonable burdens arise.
Sales of electric cars to be increased
The plans are also intended to make it more attractive to buy an electric car. Many people have shied away from it so far, partly because of the purchase costs, canceled government subsidies, but also because refueling is not as easy as refueling cars with diesel or gasoline.
The federal government’s goal is to have 15 million electric cars registered in Germany by 2030. At the beginning of 2024, according to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, there were around 1.4 million.
According to the draft, the supply requirement will result in an additional 8,000 new fast charging points. According to the ministry, as of April, of the approximately 115,000 publicly accessible charging points, almost 22,000 are fast charging points.
“This is reminiscent of a planned economy”
The CEO of Aral, Achim Bothe, criticizes the planned change in the law: “We reject the planned supply requirement. It is reminiscent of a planned economy and does not work.” With around 2,400 petrol stations, Aral is the largest provider on the German petrol station market. In total, there are around 14,000 petrol stations in Germany.
From the Aral boss’s point of view, not every gas station in Germany needs a charging station. Bothe said the obligation would also lead to bad investments: “We should focus on locations where we see the greatest potential for demand and use. So there will be charging points at many Aral gas stations and other locations, but not every gas station needs a charging station,” he said.
The managing director of en2x – the Fuels and Energy Association, Christian Küchen, sees things similarly. He said that the petrol station companies are building where it makes the most sense for electric car drivers: “Not only at petrol stations, but also at supermarkets, on the side of the road, at home and at work.” A requirement to have charging stations at petrol stations would be “pure symbolic politics,” said Küchen.
Expensive fast charging stations would have to be set up at locations where there is likely to be little demand for charging current. According to the association, two thirds of all petrol stations in Germany already have a fast charging station within a five kilometer radius.
Municipalities see advantages for rural areas
The general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, André Berghegger, welcomed the plans. It would not be enough if fast charging points were only created on main traffic routes and in metropolitan areas. “For residents of rural areas, for people passing through, for tourists and, last but not least, for businesses, a minimum level of charging infrastructure must also be accessible in rural areas.”
The planned requirement for petrol stations represents an important building block, as the areas for charging infrastructure are already developed and conveniently located. “Rural and possibly less lucrative locations must therefore not be able to be replaced to a large extent by charging points in metropolitan areas.”
The ADAC said that the supply requirement was indeed a major intervention in the market. However, there was a lot of flexibility in its implementation, so that the legal requirement was justifiable. From a consumer perspective, petrol stations are particularly suitable as a place for fast charging.