MUNICH/Cologne (dpa-AFX) - There are still far too few charging options for e-cars in private underground garages. This was the finding of a survey of property managers in eleven major German cities by the German Automobile Association (ADAC) published on Thursday. Only one in 13 cases had a reasonable option, it said.

It is true that 18 percent of apartment buildings with more than ten parking spaces now have an electricity connection. But only seven percent offer residents charging stations or wallboxes. Eleven percent offer only a power outlet, which the ADAC believes is unsuitable for charging electric cars.

Four out of ten power outlets are powered by green electricity, according to the survey. Compared to the first ADAC survey in the 2019 case, charging options have increased somewhat. At that time, only two percent of properties had a charging point or wallbox and two percent had a power outlet.

"Electric cars are supposed to reduce CO2 emissions in traffic and relieve cities in particular of exhaust fumes. But most people there live in apartment buildings. Here, the charging options are still completely inadequate," criticized Prof. Roman Suthold of the ADAC in NRW, where property managers in Düsseldorf and Cologne were surveyed.

"Even if, correctly, more and more public e-charging stations are springing up, charging at home and overnight is the most convenient and effective for users. But if there's no way to do this, it also deters potential e-car buyers. Without electrification of the car fleet, climate protection targets are unattainable," says Suthold.

Just under a third of the property managers surveyed (30 percent) who do not yet manage a property with charging facilities are at least planning a corresponding expansion. For two thirds of the multi-family houses, which already have loading possibilities, plan the enterprises within the next two years a further development.

Since the amendment of the German Condominium Act (WEG) on December 1, 2020, tenants and owners in apartment buildings have generally found it easier to enforce a claim to charging facilities at their parking space. Since 2018, the ADAC in NRW has been offering free initial advice on private charging of electric vehicles together with the NRW Association of Electrical and Information Technology Trades./fc/DP/zb