The report of the Federal Association for Energy and Water Management shows that in 2025 in Germany, almost nine out of ten public chargers were not serving any vehicle at any given time. The average occupancy rate of these points is only 12%.
At the end of 2025, the German charging infrastructure included 200,000. points with a total power exceeding 9 gigawatts. This, as the Interia website points out, is much more than expected by European standards for the development of electromobility.
However, according to analyzes conducted by Automobilwoche and the Elvah service, low use of chargers is not a new phenomenon. It has already been noticed that many of them, especially the fast ones, are used sporadically or not at all.
Also reads: Donald Tusk's decision hit the Germans. “We are facing an existential crisis”
Occupancy even dropped to single digits for some fast chargers.
Infrastructure is ahead of market development
The Federal Association for Energy and Water Management emphasizes that the charging network is growing much faster than the number of electric cars on German roads. The number of new charging points is increasing, while when sales of electric cars do not keep up with previous forecasts. As a result, the difference between infrastructure availability and real demand increases.
Read also: The end of easy work in Germany. Employers set a key condition
This situation poses serious financial challenges for charging network operators. Building fast chargers requires large investments, and when utilization rates are low, revenues are limited. Industry analysts predict that this may lead to market consolidation in which only the largest players will survive.
