Mathilde Carlier
Research Expert covering transportation and logistics
As France aims to accelerate its energy transition, the French government contends with various challenges. One of these hurdles comes from the transportation sector, the industry with the highest energy demand in the country. To address these issues, the government has encouraged consumers to switch to electric vehicles, in line with European Union goals. This effort has so far been met with relative success: In 2023, there were over one million electric vehicles in circulation in France, most of which were battery-electric.
To accommodate the needs of this growing fleet and to encourage adoption, France has invested in its charging infrastructure. As of 2023, the country deployed a public charging infrastructure above projected European Union targets for 2024 and 2025, but remained behind 2026 targets.
While French electric vehicle charging infrastructure has been growing in the past years, it faces many challenges, including meeting consumers’ needs and geographical challenges. Despite this, as of January 2024, most EV owners were satisfied with the available public charging options.
To accommodate the needs of this growing fleet and to encourage adoption, France has invested in its charging infrastructure. As of 2023, the country deployed a public charging infrastructure above projected European Union targets for 2024 and 2025, but remained behind 2026 targets.
Differences across regions
The French charging infrastructure broke records in 2023, with over 118,000 public chargers in operation in the country. Most of this electric vehicle supply equipment, however, offered alternating current charging (AC), and the majority of these AC chargers had a power between 7.4 and 22 kilowatts. AC charging tended to be slower to recharge an electric car than its direct current counterparts due to its need to be transformed by on-board chargers. While access to fast-charging is a cross-region issue, it is particularly observable in the Île-de-France region, where Paris is located. The average power at public charging points in this region was around 24,400 volt-ampere (around 19.5 kilowatts, assuming a power factor of 0.8) in 2023. This was the lowest average power recorded in the country, though Île-de-France was the region with the largest charging network and second-largest total charging capacity that same year.A preference for home charging
While France’s public charging network has grown through 2023, French consumers still widely preferred the convenience of home charging to public stations. Over six in ten electric vehicles owners reported charging their vehicle most often at home, compared to two in ten using workplace charging and 17 percent using public charging. Private chargers, amounting to over one million charging points, represented the largest share of the overall available charging points in France. However, home charging was not a possibility for every electric vehicle owner. The lack of private parking space was by far the leading reason for EV owners to not have access to private charging, in part due to how highly urban areas are designed.While French electric vehicle charging infrastructure has been growing in the past years, it faces many challenges, including meeting consumers’ needs and geographical challenges. Despite this, as of January 2024, most EV owners were satisfied with the available public charging options.
