Electromobility in Germany 2021

According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt – KBA), more than 1.2 million electric vehicles (all-electric & plug-in hybrids) were on Germany’s roads in 2021, of which 664,000 were all-electric vehicles. According to the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur – BNetzA), almost 50,000 public charging stations were available for electric vehicle users.

Overall, all-electric vehicles have more than doubled compared to 2020 (2020: ~ 309,000, cf. Electromobility 2020). In 2021 there were already three federal states with more than 100,000 registered all-electric vehicles. With almost 139,000 strictly electric vehicles, North Rhine‑Westphalia is at the top of the federal states and was thus able to defend its first place ranking from the previous year (2020: ~ 62,800). Bavaria follows in second place with approx. 126,000 all-electric vehicles (2020: ~ 59,500), followed by Baden-Württemberg in third place with approx. 113,00 (2020: ~ 54,250).

The ranking order of the public charging stations also remains unchanged compared to 2020: In Bavaria, electric vehicle users can charge at more than 10,000 public charging stations from different providers. Thus, Bavaria holds first place. North Rhine-Westphalia takes second place with around 9,000 charging stations. Baden-Württemberg is in third place in the charging station ranking, with almost 8,500 charging stations.

According to Directive 2014/94/EU on the development of infrastructure for alternative fuels, at least one public charging point is to be provided for every ten electric vehicles [1]. Nationwide, this specified ratio of the EU Commission between all-electric cars and public charging points was not achieved in 2021: the ratio in 2021 is 13:1. However in 2020 the targeted ratio was met. The development of this ratio implies that Germany’s expanding public charging infrastructure needs to catch up to the ramp-up of electric vehicles.

Suppose the ratio is based on all-electric vehicles (all-electric and plug-in hybrid). In that case, Germany falls even further short of the benchmark: In 2021, there were almost 1,269,000 electric vehicles, resulting in a ratio to public charging points of around 25:1.

Further information:

• unIT-e² – living lab for integrated e-mobility
• Bidirektionales Lademanagement (BDL)
• Electromobility in Germany 2020