The German federal government has unveiled a new 6,6-billion-euro plan to hugely expand electric car charging infrastructure, as the country prepares to transition from petrol and diesel to emissions-free vehicles. 

Germany to build 1 million electric car charging points by 2030

The three-year “master plan” aims to create the necessary infrastructure to support a mass switchover from fossil fuel to electric-powered vehicles. The focus will be on hugely expanding charging point coverage, from the current 70.000 to more than 1 million by 2030 - a substantial proportion of them in rural areas, where charging points are currently hard to find. 

At the same time, people who currently drive electric cars will be offered subsidies to install solar panels on their houses and apartments to help charge their cars with a more sustainable source of energy. In the meantime, the government wants to prepare the electricity grid so it can deal with the additional load as the number of electric vehicles increases. 

15 million electric cars on German roads within next 10 years

The announcement comes after Germany’s motor vehicle authority announced that 14,6 percent of all cars newly registered in the country are now electric. In August 2021 the country surpassed the milestone of getting 1 million electric vehicles on its roads and autobahns, and the government aims to increase that figure to 15 million by 2030, ahead of the EU’s 2035 phaseout of internal combustion cars. 

The government has for years been giving subsidies to people who purchase electric vehicles but is now turning its focus to infrastructure, to better support those who make the switch. The funding surge for charging points comes just after the government announced it would be slowly reducing subsidies for electric vehicle purchases. 

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing told reporters in Berlin last week that charging infrastructure had to “meet demand and be user-friendly.” Describing Germany as a world-leading automotive location, he said, “Electric mobility will find acceptance if charging is as easy as refuelling today.”