The development of charging infrastructure for e-mobility in Germany is stuck in the segment of apartment buildings. Charging in an apartment building is rare and difficult.
For EV drivers, charging at home remains the most common charging location. The proportion of drivers charging at home in an apartment building (55 %) is significantly lower than in a single-family house (90 %).
Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH
When it comes to expanding charging options, multi-family homes are lagging far behind demand, as a survey by the market research company Uscale has shown. While 90 % of e-car drivers who live in a single-family home could charge their vehicles at home, this share has only increased from 53 % to 55 % among e-car drivers in multi-family homes over the last year, according to the survey, for which almost 3,000 e-car drivers in Germany were surveyed between July and September 2024 about their charging habits. The share of electric car owners living in apartment buildings has also not grown.
Uscale cites the often complicated coordination among owners as the reason for the slow expansion in apartment buildings. "Particularly in homeowners' associations, it is difficult for all owners to agree on a scalable solution for charging technology from the outset", comments Dr. Axel Sprenger, head of the study. "There is virtually no solution that can be gradually expanded without incurring costs for not-yet EV drivers at the outset. A quick solution is not in sight here", says Sprenger.
Attractive: Charging at Work and at Retail Stores
The charging situation at work is significantly better. According to the survey, newcomers would confirm an increase in charging options at the workplace. Charging at work is not only practical, but also financially attractive. According to the survey, 48 % of employers offering charging would cover the charging costs in full. For private cars, 46 % cover the charging costs. If employees have to pay for the electricity, the prices charged are often lower than those for domestic electricity.
According to the survey, charging at retail outlets continues to be very attractive. However, EV drivers complain about high utilization and, as a result, low availability.
EVs are Mostly Charged at Home
Nevertheless, charging at home is still the most important charging location. According to the survey, around 80 % charge at home. 85 % of them would charge at a wallbox, 14 % at a normal socket. Charging facilities on highways and expressways (53 %) would come in second place among the charging locations used. After that, employer parking lots, customer parking lots and public normal charging options are used by roughly the same number of e-car drivers (35 % each). Fast-charging hubs in inner-city areas are only used by 22 %.
This is a partly automated translation of this German article.
