The high gasoline prices are currently hotly debated. But the prices for traction current are also rising steadily.
The fuel prices are rising. And the driving electricity prices take part. While there are obvious reasons for the high cost of diesel and gasoline, the market for e-car energy is still difficult to pin down. In the medium to long term, however, there could be some relief.
More expensive since last year
“At the moment, prices are going in the wrong direction,” analyzes e-mobility expert Alexander Krug from management consultancy Arthur D. Little. According to him, the costs for traction current have tended to rise for some time. After the fast-charging provider Ionity initially caused excitement among the e-driver community with massive price increases last year, EnBW Mobility recently increased the costs for the kilowatt hour, in some cases significantly - by up to 13 cents per kilowatt hour, depending on the tariff model. The direct competitor Shell Recharge, to which the charging service NewMotion also belongs, recently switched its tariff model to fixed prices, now charging a peak of 81 cents per kWh plus transaction fee per charging process.
However, the market, including the pricing that takes place there, is still very opaque. In addition to the pure electricity costs in cents per kilowatt hour, there are often basic fees, surcharges for ultra-fast chargers or time-based costs. The regularly updated market study "E-Mobility Excellence" by P3 Automotive and "Charging Radar" therefore calculates the annual electricity price costs on the basis of average user profiles. And found big differences: With the cheapest provider, Stadtwerke München, the energy costs around 1.000 euros per year, with the most expensive (LogPay Charge & Fuel), double the amount is due. When it comes to costs, EnBW is more in the middle of the field. What the considerable price range shows in any case: There is a lot of leeway between the tariffs that the charging services can currently use for their price movements. The models of the individual providers change accordingly quickly and strongly.
Sooner or later down again
Driving current market expert Krug expects prices to calm down in the medium term. Initially, however, they could increase, especially with ultra-fast charging, he currently sees a trend towards higher charging prices. In the medium term, however, he expects a downward correction. The increasing number of e-cars should help. "At the moment there is still a lack of volume, so the utilization of the pillars is simply not right," said Krug. He expects a financially sound ratio of vehicles and sockets for the operator in the next five to ten years.
Even faster charging stations are being planned
Nevertheless, depending on the location and technology, the installation of charging stations is likely to remain a subsidy business in some cases. “There is no money to be made in the foreseeable future simply by selling traction current,” believes Krug. At best, ultra-fast chargers could be profitable in particularly good locations, for example at attractive motorway service stations or in downtown shopping districts. Most of the charging stations are only attractive in connection with overarching business models. Krug expects that a handful of large companies will emerge in the coming years that make their money with complete energy offers and, in addition to pure traction charging, also offer photovoltaic and energy system solutions: for private users and business customers.
The power and mineral oil companies such as EnBW and Shell could be key market players in the future. Or spin-offs from the automotive industry such as the VW subsidiary Elli, which already offers electricity, wall boxes and entire energy solutions for companies. Then the charging station may become something like the ATMs used to be: They didn't earn money, but instead created trust. Customers paid them almost unnoticed through their annual bank fees, no matter how often they were used. A similar flat rate could come in the long run for traction current.