Mr Ulbrich, what are the reasons for the current electric car boom?
"People want electric cars. Demand is rising sharply. In October, the market share of pure electric vehicles (BEV) in Germany was more than 8 percent. Including plug-in hybrids, it was even more than 17 percent. To put it into perspective: a year ago, we were still at two to three percent. Especially in the current situation – I’m referring to Covid 19 – this is a very strong development. Incentives certainly play a role here, but first and foremost, attractive models such as the ID.3 and ID.4 are now entering the market.“
And charging...?
“... has never been so easy and convenient. Anyone buying an electric car today has a range of charging options. In Germany, the ratio of public charging points to electric vehicles is currently around 1:14, which is exactly within the target range. There is a dense network of fast charging stations on highways. And charging services such as We Charge make the charging process itself very simple. Anyone who uses these services will get along very well in everyday life with the electric car.”
What will happen if more and more electric cars hit the roads in the future?
“This will be a huge challenge. Obviously, the charging infrastructure must be able to cope with the electric car boom. But this will only succeed if expansion speeds up significantly now. This year, the number of electric cars has already grown twice as fast as the charging infrastructure. So ‘business as usual’ is not enough. In 2025, there could be three to four million electric cars and plug-in hybrids on German roads, which would require around 300,000 public charging points in Germany. We therefore need a tenfold increase in the charging infrastructure over the next five years.”
What needs to happen for faster expansion?
“The Federal Government is already tackling many important issues with the "Master Plan Charging Infrastructure". It is up to everyone to implement this plan. Above all, municipalities must become proactive and designate appropriate areas on site. Unfortunately, in many local administrations nobody really feels responsible. In principle, we need an e-mobility manager in every city. Business can and must do more, too. For the retail and real estate sectors, charging offers great opportunities. Anyone who invests now will reap the benefits for a long time to come. Because one thing is certain: over the coming years there will be a massive increase in the number of customers looking for a charging option.”