TURIN – Fewer electric cars have been sold, but charging stations are increasing at a record rate. And Italy has more charging points than France, Germany and Great Britain. Points for public use in Italy grew by 41% in 2022 to 36,772 units. In 2022, 10,748 points were installed, of which 27% were high power and almost 4,000 installed in the last quarter of the year: the latter share doubled on the total number of columns, from 6 to 12%. The columns for electric cars in Italy are growing at a record rate. Motus-E, the association that represents companies in the electric mobility supply chain, presents the fourth dossier on the situation of the infrastructures for powering electric vehicles.
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In fact, for every 100 electric vehicles on the road, Italy has 21.5 recharging points for public use, compared to 11.5 in France, 8.2 in Germany and 8.9 in the United Kingdom. Countries, these, in which in the last year the registrations of electric cars have grown respectively by 25.3%, 32.3% and 40.1%, against the isolated Italian step backwards (-27.1% ).
“The report shows that despite the slowdown in the electric car market, recharging operators are working at full capacity to help Italy achieve its transport decarbonisation objectives”, comments the general secretary of Motus-E, Francesco Naso. The priority now “is to intervene at a political level so as not to waste the over 700 million euros of the Pnrr destined for the installation of more than 21,000 high-power charging stations. At present, given how the legislation is set up, there is in fact the risk of not being able to use the huge resources made available by Europe, at least in the first tender which without interventions will expire in May, but has not yet been opened”. It is also necessary to make up for the delays on the motorways and to overcome the slowness of the authorization procedures in the Municipalities: “In recent months we have developed a handbook precisely to support local administrations in all coordination activities for the construction of infrastructures, with advice for identify the most suitable sites, business models and ways of engaging operators”, says Naso.
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Looking at the distribution by macro-area, it can be seen that around 58% of the columns are located in Northern Italy, 22% in the Center and 20% in the South and on the islands. With 5,971 charging points, Lombardy confirms itself as the most virtuous region, repeating the record of 2020 and 2021: alone it concentrates 16% of Italian charging points. Followed in order by Piedmont and Veneto (with 11% of the total each), Lazio and Emilia-Romagna (with 10% each) and finally Tuscany (8%). Regions that cover a total of 66% of the total number of charging points for public use in Italy. Approximately 33% of the total points are located in the 14 metropolitan cities, where approximately 36% of the population lives. Rome is in first place for the number of charging points (2,751), followed by Milan (1,927), Turin (1,641), Venice (1,372) and Florence (882). In absolute terms, the last places among the metropolitan cities go to Messina (298 recharging points), Cagliari (250) and Reggio Calabria (123). In relation to inhabitants, the area with the highest number of recharging points is that of the province of Venice (about 16 points for every 10,000 inhabitants), followed by Florence (almost 9 points for every 10,000 inhabitants) and Bologna (about 8 points for every 10,000 inhabitants). 10,000 inhabitants). Looking instead at the number of points per km², in first place there is Milan (about 122 points every 100 km²) and respectively in second and third place we find Venice (about 55 points every 100 km²) and Rome (about 51 points every 100 km² ).
In percentage terms, in 2022 the recharging points installed on the national territory increased by 41%, after the +36% achieved in 2021. A constant acceleration, which compared to the first survey of September 2019 saw the number of columns go up 245%. In addition to the share of direct current points having doubled, in 2021 they were around 6% compared to 12% in 2022, that of ultra-fast points with power over 150 kw has tripled, going from 1% in 2021 to 3, 1% in 2022. In general, the growth rates of high-power charging points are running: in the last quarter, fast direct current ones grew by 34.3% and ultra-fast ones by 60% compared to the previous three months. A positive sign also for the recharging points on the motorway, which at 31 December 2022 reached 496 (of which 85% in direct current with power over 43 kW) from 118 at the end of 2021. An increase, however, strongly limited by the failure to publish the notices required by law to allow operators to install the charging stations on a large scale on major roads.