Charging stations for electric vehicles: the Autorité issues its opinion
At a time when the European Union has set itself the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the transport sector must evolve to reduce its impact on the environment. Accordingly, the deployment and pricing of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (“EVCI”) and the creation of associated services are key to the decarbonisation of the transport sector. The strategic contract for the automobile sector in France includes a target of 400,000 publicly accessible charging points by 2030, versus 100,000 in 2023.
To prepare an overview of the competitive landscape in the EVCI sector, the Autorité started inquiries ex officio in February 2023 and then launched a public consultation in May 2023, receiving 81 responses to the questionnaires sent out and six open contributions. The Autorité also drew on the work of the sector-specific regulators concerned, the French energy regulator (Commission de régulation de l’énergie – CRE) and the French transport regulator (Autorité de régulation des transports – ART).
Scope
As part of this opinion, which focuses on mainland France (excluding Corsica), the Autorité has examined two complementary sectors that are essential to the mass deployment of light electric vehicles (excluding heavy goods vehicles and two-wheelers) and their adoption by the French:
- publicly accessible EVCI and related activities (installation and operation of EVCI and provision of mobility and interoperability services);
- EVCI for private use, in apartment buildings.
Recommendations for the French government, sector-specific regulators and industry players
This opinion is addressed to the French State (legislator, shareholder and concession holder), the relevant local and regional authorities, sector-specific regulators and the many players in the value chain that are also responsible for stimulating competition in the two sectors under analysis:
- legislative, regulatory and organisational recommendations are made to supplement the legal framework in which these multiple players operate and to optimise government support for these two growth sectors. The aim is twofold, namely to create the right conditions for the emergence of a competitive sector, and to support consumers as they change their consumption habits;
- at the same time, a number of non-exhaustive potential competitive risks are highlighted, which require particular vigilance to maintain competition on the merits and foster innovation, as well as the quality and diversity of the offering in these emerging sectors.
The Autorité recalls that industry players can now request informal guidance in the area of sustainability, as part of the notice published on 27 May 2024.