E-cars: Number of public charging points increased by almost 30,000 in 2025
Last year, the number of public charging points rose to almost 200,000. The increase is slightly smaller than in previous years.
The BMW iX3, introduced in 2025, can charge at up to 400 kW at its peak. The corresponding infrastructure that can deliver this is currently still scarce in Germany.
(Image: BMW)
The Federal Network Agency has presented current figures on charging infrastructure for electric cars. According to this, as of January 1, 2026, there were 145,256 public AC charging points and 48,729 DC charging points in Germany. The number of public charging options is therefore likely to exceed 200,000 in the first quarter of 2026.
| January 1, 2025 | January 1, 2026 | Increase in percent | |
| AC charging points | 128643 | 145256 | 13 |
| DC charging points | 36652 | 48729 | 33 |
| 165,295 | 193,985 | 17 |
The cumulative charging power increased more strongly in percentage terms than the number of charging points. It is now almost 8.1 GW, compared to just under 6.3 GW a year earlier. On average, there are almost 42 kW per charging point instead of 38 kW. The main driver of this development is, of course, the expansion of DC charging points with at least 150 kW. Their number increased by 9457 to 35,353 within the past year.
AC still leads in expansion
Nevertheless, and this is clear from the table above, the number of AC charging points is still growing faster than that of DC charging points. This is because a connection to the densely woven low-voltage network is sufficient for an AC charging station. Such a charging point typically delivers a maximum of 22 kW in three phases, and current electric cars cannot accept more via this method.
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For DC charging stations, which can offer much higher charging powers, a connection to the medium-voltage network must be established. The costs for this are higher, but so is the potential revenue. After all, more electricity can be sold per unit of time. It is therefore not surprising that providers are focusing on expanding charging points with 300 kW and more. After all, there are also more and more electric cars that can utilize this. These include, among others, models from Xpeng, BMW, Mercedes, Smart, and Volvo.
(mfz)