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Tuesday, 20 May 2026  ·  Ljouwert, FryslânEst. 2026

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Why Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Is Years Behind the Cars
Infrastructure

Wêrom't de ynfrastruktuer foar elektryske auto's jierren efter rint

September 23, 2025 · Frisian News

Car makers flood markets with electric vehicles while charging networks lag far behind, leaving drivers stranded and cities unprepared. Bureaucracy and poor planning, not technology, created this gap.

Frisian flagFrysk

In bestjoerder yn Rotterdam rûn ferline wike in laadknooppunt yn en fûn sân fan njoggen stasjes stikken, twa reservearre, en in rige fan fiif oare auto's te wachtsjen. Dizze sêne spilet him no ôf yn hiel West-Europa. Elektryske auto's steane op opritten, ûnmooglik om op húsnetwurken op te laden. Snellaadstasjes sierje stêdssintren mar wurkje mar de helte fan de tiid. De ynfrastruktuerkloof is it echte obstakel foar elektrysk ferfier wurden, net de fartúgen sels.

Autofabrikanten leverden ferline jier 2,1 miljoen elektryske fartúgen yn Europa ôf. Underwilens wûn it kontinint mar 340.000 nije iepenbiere laadpunten yn deselde perioade. De wiskunde is wreed: fabrikanten pleatsten seis auto's op elke nije lader. Netwurken kinne dit tempo net oan. Eastenryk, Dútslân en Nederlân rapportearje allegearre moannen lange wachttiden foar nije laadynstallasjes. Ynvestearders wifkje omdat de opbringsten ûndúdlik bliuwe en regeljouwing elke ferkiezingssyklus ferskyft.

Regearingen stelle dat hja elektrysk ferfier stypje, mar keppelje iepenbiere laadmiddelen oan griene-groei-ideology ynstee fan basis fraach en oanbod. Brussel jout opdracht dat de helte fan nije auto-ferkeap elektrysk is tsjin 2030, mar finansiert laadynfrastruktuer as oft it in lúkse is. Gemeenten konkurrearje om EU-jild ynstee fan te bouwen wat hja nedich hawwe. Fergunningen slepe jierren foart. Kabels kostje trije kear wat hja yn 2018 kosten. Arbeidstekoart lit projekten healwei ôfwurke. De steat, dy't saai mar essinsjeel wurk as dit beheare moat, makket belemmeringen ynstee.

Privéfirma's bouden de measte laadnetwurken omdat hja winst seagen, mar rjochtsje harren op winstjouwende stêdskorridors en sneldiken. Plattelânswegen en sekundêre stêden wurde tsjuster. Appartemintsbewenners, de earmste keapers fan elektryske auto's, kinne thús net lade en hingje ôf fan iepenbiere netwurken dy't net bestean. Dizze splitsing betsjut dat foardielen fan elektrysk ferfier allinne riken mei garages en tagong ta tichte netwurken te goede komme. De rest krijt in ûnfolslein produkt.

De laadkloof slút net fluch. Autofabrikanten sille auto's bliuwe ferstjoere omdat hja EU-boetes krije as hja dat net dogge. Regearingen sille tasizzingen oer groen ferfier bliuwe meitsjen wylst hja it echte wurk ûnderfinansierje. Underwilens sammelje batterijen stof op opritten, en bestjoerders hâlde harren âlde tankwagens langer as hja soene moatte. De ynfrastruktuer hie earst boud wurde moatten. Ynstee dêrfan sette wy de kar foar it hynder en jouwe de skuld oan it net.

English

A driver in Rotterdam pulled into a charging hub last week to find seven of nine stations broken, two reserved, and a queue of five other cars waiting. This scene plays out across Western Europe now. Electric cars sit in driveways, unable to charge on home networks. Fast-charging stations clutter city centers but work only half the time. The infrastructure gap has become the real obstacle to electric transport, not the vehicles themselves.

Car makers delivered 2.1 million electric vehicles across Europe last year. Meanwhile, the continent gained only 340,000 new public charging points in the same span. The math is brutal: manufacturers installed six cars for every new charger. Networks cannot support this pace. Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands all report months-long waits for new charging installations. Investors hesitate because the returns remain unclear and regulations shift every election cycle.

Governments claim they back electric transport, then tie public charging funds to green-growth ideology rather than basic supply and demand. Brussels mandates that half of new car sales be electric by 2030, yet funds charging infrastructure like it is a luxury. Towns compete for EU grants instead of building what they need. Permits drag on for years. Cables cost three times what they did in 2018. Labor shortages leave projects half-finished. The state, which should manage boring but essential work like this, creates barriers instead.

Private firms built most charging networks because they saw profit, but they focus on profitable urban corridors and highways. Rural roads and secondary towns go dark. Apartment dwellers, the poorest buyers of EVs, cannot charge at home and depend on public grids that do not exist. This split means electric transport advantages only the wealthy with garages and access to dense networks. The rest get handed an incomplete product.

The charging gap will not close soon. Car makers will keep shipping vehicles because they face EU fines if they do not. Governments will keep making promises about green transport while underfunding the actual work. Meanwhile, batteries gather dust in driveways, and drivers keep their old fuel cars longer than they should. The infrastructure should have been built first. Instead, we put the cart before the horse and blame the grid.


Published September 23, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân