BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Drivers of electric cars are finding it increasingly easy to find a public charging point in Germany - but the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) believes that more speed is still needed in expanding the charging infrastructure. As of July 1 of this year, there were around 21 electric vehicles per public charging point in Germany, as the VDA announced on Monday. At the beginning of the year, there were still more than 23 e-vehicles.

According to the VDA, the number of public charging points in Germany increased by almost 17,000 to around 97,500 in the first six months of this year. At the same time, around two million electric cars were registered in Germany as of July 1. This includes both battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids.

Fast-charging points in particular are on the rise. More than 5,300 of them were added in Germany in the first half of the year. By the middle of the year, the number had risen to around 18,500, meaning there were 110 electric cars for every fast-charging point.

However, the VDA believes that growth is still too slow. The German government's target is to have at least one million public charging points nationwide by 2030. According to the association, the pace of expansion would have to triple in order to achieve this target. "People need the certainty of being able to charge easily anywhere and at any time in order to switch to e-mobility," said VDA President Hildegard Müller.

There are also major differences in the individual regions. The VDA evaluates the availability of charging points based on data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the Federal Network Agency for federal states, districts and cities. The city of Ingolstadt performs best. Here, only around four electric cars have to share a public charging point. The city of Wiesbaden has the fewest charging points. According to the VDA, there are 115 electric cars per public charging point. Among the federal states, Saxony is the best, Saarland the worst.

According to the VDA, there is still not a single public charging point in around half of all municipalities in Germany. This is "sobering and illustrates the need for political action", said Müller./maa/DP/zb