Charging stations: more than 82,000 points by the end of 2022

The number of charging points for electric and hybrid cars increased by 53% in France in 2022, but still falls short of the 100,000 target.

The year 2022 was marked by a new record in electric car sales, with over 200,000 registrations. As a result, there are now 690 on the roads in total, and the number exceeds 1.1 million when including plug-in hybrids. Is the charging station infrastructure keeping pace with this electric boom?

France falls short in the race for 100,000 stations

In October 2020, France set a significant goal: to become one of the densest countries in terms of charging points for electrified vehicles. The then Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, and her transportation delegate, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, announced the target of 100,000 charging points by 2021. By that deadline, the goal had not been met at all, with only 53,667 charging points open—almost half of what’s planned.

In 2022, the shortfall continued. The Gireve barometer, reported by Avere-France, registers 82,107 charging points as of December 31, 2022, well below the initial target. However, the general delegate of Avere-France, Clément Molizon, emphasizes that the 100,000 “was primarily aimed at giving renewed momentum to deployments. In this sense, it’s a success.” With a 53% increase in one year, the growth is much stronger than that of sales (+25%). Thanks largely to December, which contributed nearly 5,000 new charging points on its own.

The growth rate is thus lower than in 2021 but significantly higher than in the 2010s. There are now four times more charging stations in 2022 than in 2017, and almost ten times more than in 2014. According to the barometer, France currently has 122 charging points per 100,000 inhabitants. However, the number of charging points per electrified vehicle remains lower than before: 13.4 in 2022 compared to 5.9 in 2017 and 3.2 in 2014.

Fast charging stations are booming

By type of connector, it’s mainly fast chargers and ultra-fast charging stations that have driven the barometer upward. Those over 150 kW have increased eightfold. This can be explained because highway rest areas—equipped with service stations—were required to install them before the end of the year.

However, it is this type of connector that performed the worst last December. Avere-France states that only three out of four were operational at all times, compared to 82% of fast chargers (under 150 kW) and 85% of slow chargers (AC).

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