Electric cars in Poland. How many of them are on our roads?
A total of 64,495 fully electric passenger cars and commercial vehicles (BEV) were registered in Poland. During the first four months of this year, their number increased by 7,782 units, which is an increase of 8% compared to the same period of 2023 – according to the Electromobility Counter launched by PZPM and PSNM.
At the end of April 2024, there were 111,775 electric passenger cars on Polish roads. The fleet of fully electric passenger cars (BEV) numbered 57,958 units, and the fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) – 53,817 units. The number of electric vans and trucks was 6,568. The fleet of electric mopeds and motorcycles is also constantly growing, which at the end of April amounted to 20,402 units, and the number of hybrid passenger cars and delivery vans has increased to 771,558 units. At the end of last month, the number of zero-emission buses in Poland increased to 1,314, of which 1,260 are fully electric vehicles and 54 – hydrogen.
In parallel to the fleet of electric vehicles, the charging infrastructure is developing. At the end of April 2024, there were 6,691 publicly available charging points for electric vehicles (3,686 stations) in Poland. 28% of them were direct current (DC) fast charging points, and 72% – slow alternating current (AC) charging points with a power of less than or equal to 22 kW. In April, 201 new points were opened.
– The automotive industry received with great interest the information about the government's allocation of PLN 1.6 billion from the KPO program for subsidies for electric vehicles. We do not know the details of this program, but taking into account the recently observed decline in the dynamics of registration of new electric vehicles – not only in Poland – this program can certainly revolutionize the first registrations. While in the case of new cars, the only objections were raised by the too low value of the vehicle covered by the subsidy, amounting to PLN 225,000. PLN, then in the case of subsidies for used cars, the details will be very important – including a precise definition of which vehicles will be subject to subsidies. We have had bad experience with the market for used combustion cars, so every effort should be made to ensure that no longer used electric cars enter our market. Limiting the age of the vehicle to 4 years seems reasonable. However, it should be borne in mind that in virtually all European countries the subsidies were accompanied by the obligation to use the vehicle for at least 2-3 years. This would mean that buyers using the subsidy system will import vehicles over 4 years old, and we do not want that – says Jakub Faryś, President of PZPM.