Europe's 2030 EV Charging Infrastructure Gap: Quantitative and Spatial Analysis of Public Charging Points Across 30 Countries

The online auto parts shop Motointegrator, in collaboration with the experts at DataPulse Research, presents a comprehensive quantitative and spatial analysis of Europe’s progress toward its 2030 electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure targets. This study analyzes data from the European Commission’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO), covering nearly one million publicly accessible charging points across 30 European countries (EU-27 + EFTA) as of August 2025. Findings indicate that the EU-27 has achieved only 26.1 % of its goal of 3.5 million charging points by 2030, corresponding to roughly 910 000 currently active points. The study reveals pronounced regional disparities, with extensive charging deserts across northern Scandinavia, central Germany, rural France, and inland Spain. It further distinguishes between density and speed, showing that the Netherlands leads in access (665 points per 100 000 inhabitants) but has a low share of high-power chargers (>150 kW), while Norway combines fewer chargers with higher capacity. An additional finding highlights the growing role of private retail networks in closing the infrastructure gap: the Schwarz Group (Lidl and Kaufland) operates 8 855 public charging points—more than entire EU member states such as Ireland or Romania. This analysis provides quantitative benchmarks for infrastructure planning and contributes to policy discussions under the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), emphasizing that Europe’s challenge lies not only in quantity but also in power, reliability, and equitable distribution. Original source: Europe’s 2030 EV Charging Gap: 74 % Short of the TargetSources: European Commission TEN-T, EAFOLicense: CC BY 4.0