Electric cars are gaining ground in our cities. By 2023, they will account for 14.4%2 of new car purchases in Europe, with an estimated 750,000 vehicles3 on the road in France. However, these good figures mask some obstacles to mass adoption: despite the 120,000 charging stations available by 20244, accessibility remains a challenge for 82% of French people5.
At a time when the European Union is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, with a target of reducing car emissions by 55% by 2030, it’s clear that charging your electric car is still far less straightforward than filling your petrol tank. Meeting the ambitious targets of the Green Pact for Europe, with its 30 million electric vehicles on the road, requires effective, practical solutions.
While the investment effort will obviously involve increasing the number of fast-charging stations on major intercity roads, the focus must also be on the spaces we use on a daily basis. After all, it’s in the everyday urban environment that the adoption of electric vehicles really comes into its own. Electric vehicles are profoundly transforming motorists’ habits, because even in the ultra-fast version, recharging an electric vehicle takes much longer than filling up. To avoid wasting precious time, electromobilists will prefer to recharge in “hidden time”: at home, at their place of work, or even during their shopping and leisure activities, taking advantage of the time their vehicle is parked.
Roads are a crucial area for development, but not without limits. The space required for bollards, the high cost of works and the disruption to local residents are all obstacles. What’s more, surface spaces are more often devoted to urban amenities designed to maintain and improve the quality of life in the city and the attractiveness of its neighborhoods, such as café terraces, cool islands or bicycle paths. This is why the massive deployment of charging stations is concentrated in public car parks, which remain the ideal place to offer this new service. However, this deployment must not be uniform and indiscriminate, but rather targeted and adapted: needs will vary according to the location, size and nature of each car park customer base.
By offering electric vehicle users a practical, accessible service on a daily basis, we’ll make it easier for them to adopt these vehicles and use them regularly with complete peace of mind.
Yesterday, car park was the symbol of urbanization and the democratization of transport, and tomorrow it could be the symbol of the transformation of cities and mobility.
Sébastien Fraisse, President of the Executive Board
1 https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/presse/bornes-recharge-electrique-gouvernement-salue-linstallation-du-100-000ieme-point-recharge
2 Fact sheet: cars – ACEA – European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association
3 Number of electric and hybrid cars in France 2023 | Statista
4 120,354 charging points in France – February 2024 – GIREVE
5 Electric car autonomy: France is afraid (automobile-magazine.fr)
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