Mobia, the overarching partnership between the car sector federations Febiac, Traxio, and Renta, warns of a shortage in public charging points in Belgium if we don’t have an additional 100 installed every day between now and 2030.

As taxation rules on cars change in a few days and not only ICE cars but also plug-in hybrids become less interesting, the sales of BEVs will be booming, according to Mobia, especially in the (still growing) company car sector.

Mobia expects 2 million electrified cars (BEVS and PHEVs) on Belgian roads in 2030, and they will need 200 000 public charging points. Mobia is aware that a lot of charging will be done at home or at work, but there will be a lot of customers left that don’t have the opportunity to act as such. They will need public spaces to charge their electric vehicles.

Mobility of tomorrow

Mobia welcomes the ambitious investments network specialist Fluvius is planning to do to prepare the electric grid of the future, but also sees that this a huge task needing all collaboration from local and regional authorities. The importance of the stake is clear: prepare our mobility for the future.

Mobia also insists on electricity production that is as carbon-free as possible and also independent from geopolitical changes and consequences. Mobia has calculated that a complete electrification of our transport and individual mobility network will require 50% more capacity, an extra 37 TWh per year.

The charging industry is ready

According to Mobia, the charging industry is ready. The required capacity to install these charging points (fast-charging and normal charging) is there, but Mobia fears administrative hurdles, not enough network capacity, and cold feet from the building and public parking managers.

Looking at what is going on now, one can ask the question if the charging business isn’t overheating a little bit, especially when fast charging is considered.

Lately, many big players have announced huge investments in fast-charging networks all over Europe. When you look at the prices asked for electricity there, there’s a chance people will seek other means of charging their electric cars, like normal public charging points, among others.

In any case, the race for a decent and appropriate charging infrastructure seems to be finally opened. In Belgium, there’s still a huge gap between the north and the south considering this.

Flanders seems to be closing the gap compared to shining examples like the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries. Wallonia, on the contrary, still looks like a desert country where charging is concerned, and Brussels comes in between. It will be interesting to see how this is developing.