EV charging: demand vs. strain

Europe’s electric-car market is growing faster than its charging business is settling into shape. Battery-electric sales are rising across the European Union even as one British charger maker has collapsed and automakers keep warning about broken, hard-to-use public chargers. (euronews.com) (acea.auto) (drive.com.au) The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said battery-electric cars reached an 18.8% share of new European Union registrations in the first two months of 2026, up from 17.4% for full-year 2025. Euronews reported on April 17 that analysts expect demand to keep rising as higher petrol prices push buyers away from combustion models. (acea.auto) (euronews.com) At the same time, EO Charging entered administration on April 8 after what IBTimes UK described as years of difficult trading and costly expansion into the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Italy. The company had made more than 85,000 chargers, installed about 13,000 commercial charge points in roughly 35 countries, and then cut 69 jobs. (ibtimes.co.uk) (eocharging.com) Public charging is also under pressure from reliability and privacy complaints. Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard said on April 18 that drivers should not have to download an app and hand over personal details just to charge, and he said uptime standards should apply more broadly across the market. (drive.com.au) Drive reported that government-backed public chargers in Australia are guided by a 98% annual uptime target and card-payment access without mandatory app registration, but privately funded sites do not have to meet those rules. The complaint is familiar in Europe, where charger rollouts have expanded faster than common user standards across networks. (drive.com.au) (euronews.com) Not every signal points down. XCharge said it opened its first European assembly plant in Silla, near Valencia, on April 10, with a nearly 3,000-square-meter facility for high-power chargers and battery systems aimed at the regional market. (xcharge.com) (electriccarsreport.com) XCharge said the Spain site is tied to test labs in Hamburg and Madrid and is expected to reach full production capacity in 2027. The company has also signed a long-term framework agreement with German charging operator EnBW, adding another bet that European demand will justify new local manufacturing. (xcharge.com 1) (xcharge.com 2) The split is becoming clearer inside the charging business itself. EO’s website still pitches depot design, electrical installation, grid upgrades, software and maintenance for commercial fleets, while other installers are selling similar turnkey packages that bundle power work, chargers and ongoing service into one contract. (eocharging.com) (fleetnews.co.uk) That leaves Europe with two markets moving at different speeds: drivers are buying more battery-electric cars, while charger companies are still fighting over margins, standards and reliability. The next test is whether the industry can make charging feel as routine as refueling before more drivers arrive. (acea.auto) (ibtimes.co.uk) (drive.com.au)