SEVA: Number of Public Charging Points for Electric Vehicles Up 85 percent Y-o-Y

Bratislava, 7 November (TASR) - By the end of September, drivers in Slovakia had access to 5,386 public charging points for electric vehicles, with the number rising by 85 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Slovak Electromobility Association (SEVA). The number of locations rose by 66 percent to 1,897. The number of battery-electric passenger vehicles also continued to grow, with the police recording 33,737 at the end of September - 38 percent more than at the start of the year. The expansion of the charging network has been driven primarily by standard AC charging points built as part of projects co-financed by Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan. Their number rose by 78 percent, while the number of fast DC charging points increased by 7 percent. "We need to develop public charging infrastructure based on where and how people use their cars. Rapid charging during a short stop is crucial on long journeys, but for everyday use slow AC charging is also very important in places where a vehicle is parked for several hours," noted SEVA director Patrik Krizansky. The public network currently consists of 3,542 AC and 1,844 DC charging points. There are approximately 6.3 battery-electric passenger cars per charging point. According to Krizansky, it's also important for infrastructure to be ready for new generations of vehicles. At least 500 locations already support charging for 800 V electric vehicles, which is almost two-thirds of all locations offering DC charging. Vehicles that support this type of charging can recharge at these stations to provide enough power for a further 100 kilometres of driving in approximately five minutes. In terms of charging points, Bratislava region remains the largest hub for public charging with 1,233 points, approximately 23 percent of the Slovak network. However, several regions have seen faster growth over the longer term. Trnava and Zilina regions have more than five times the number of points when compared to 2022. Presov region has almost four times as many, and with 300 locations in terms of public charging infrastructure it's the second-most developed region after Bratislava region. am/df