Expansion of the charging infrastructure for e-cars: AC only just ahead of DC

Drivers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids have access to an increasingly dense network of charging points. As of June 1 2025, 129,450 AC and 39,632 DC public charging points were available nationwide, according to the Federal Network Agency. This is a total of 169,082 charging points, which is 23,982 more than on 1 June 2024. The cumulative connected load is now 6.63 GW.

AC before DC

More new AC charging points are still being connected to the grid, but DC charging points are catching up in terms of expansion. In the past twelve months, 14,153 AC and, 9829 DC charging points have been connected. The largest growth continues to be in charging points, with 15 to 22 kW. One reason for this is the cost: for an AC charging point with up to 22 kW, connection to the tightly woven low-voltage grid is sufficient. For a DC charging point, it must be the more extensive medium-voltage grid.

A clear trend is emerging in the expansion of charging points with direct current. Providers prefer the expansion of charging points with at least 150 kW. With appropriate capacity utilization, this increases profits, as more electricity can be sold per unit of time. The number of charging points with 149 to 299 kW rose from 11,192 in June last year to 15,183 at present. In the same period, the number of charging points with more than 299 kW grew from 8,726 to 12,350.

EnBW leads the way

There are currently 11,669 charging station operators in Germany. EnBW operates by far the densest network with, 9297 charging points. It is followed by E.ON with 4511, Tesla with 3388 and EWE Go with 2769. Mercedes-Benz is only just behind in fifth place with 2671 public charging points. Among the federal states, Bavaria leads with 33,066 charging points, ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia with 32,622 and Baden-Württemberg with 28,745.

(mfz)