Why it makes less sense to drive an EV in Poland

Not all countries are equally EV ready. In some, switching to EVs is much harder and costlier. And not even all that green. To electrify is to choose. So choose wisely.

In 2022, nearly 86% of electricity in Poland came from fossil fuels – a European record. As a result, Polish electricity has Europe’s highest carbon intensity: 886 grams of CO2 equivalent per kWh.

Compare that to Sweden, which has Europe’s cleanest electricity, at 37 grams of CO2 per kWh. In other words, it makes about 24 times less sense to drive an EV in Poland than in Sweden. And that’s just considering the carbon footprint of your electricity.

Which other local circumstances should you consider before electrifying your fleet?

Government incentives

Most European countries offer purchasing subsidies and/or tax breaks for EVs. Those vary per country, and over time – in the most mature markets, they’re already being scaled back. It’s important to understand the structure and evolution of these measures, as they can help offset the higher upfront cost of EVs.

Charging infrastructure

While charging at work and at home are the preferred options in any market, the availability of public charging infrastructure is a crucial indicator of a market’s EV maturity – as well as a predictor of driver acceptance of EVs (for more on charging see page 20).

EV supply

Although new vehicle supply is no longer as problematic as it was in 2022, it’s enough of an issue to consider whether there is sufficient supply of appropriate EV models on a given market when considering electrifying your local fleet.

Tco

The EV promise is that despite higher upfront cost, going electric is cheaper in the long run, when considering the Total Cost of Ownership. That may just depend on the price levels in a particular market, notably of fuel and electricity.

Sustainability goals

Do EVs actually contribute to your company’s sustainability goals? In the aforementioned Polish case, not so much. All other things being equal, electrifying in a country with ‘cleaner’ electricity makes more sense.

Driver acceptance

Drivers, not cars, are the key element of your fleet operations. In some countries, drivers will be more reluctant to accept EVs: because of range anxiety, or perhaps because of low awareness of the overall sustainability goals. In both cases, driver training will help ease the transition.

Various fleet suppliers have indexes or tools to determine the EV maturity level of various European countries. Of course, you should take care to include the specifics of your own fleet into your electrification strategy.

That being said, the most mature EV markets in Europe, by various yardsticks, are Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden: in these markets, incentives are (still) generous, electrification targets ambitious and infrastructure ubiquitous. The mirror image is presented in Poland, Greece and Bulgaria. This is where transitioning your corporate fleet to EVs will be the hardest, and the least effective.

How costly is it to charge an EV in Europe?

The cost of EV charging in Europe is not transparent due to variations according to the country, charging infrastructure, vehicle type, energy costs and taxes. However, recent studies and expanding charging services can give us a clearer picture.

What is the average cost in Europe?

The study published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2022 is one of the recent and most comprehensive about charging prices.

It found that the average cost of charging an EV is around 50% higher in Germany, Italy, Denmark and Belgium. The study used data from 2019 and 2020 for the electricity and charging infrastructure costs:

• €0.315/kWh for a Wallbox user.

• €0.300/kWh for a Wallbox with PV.

• €0.333/kWh for Commercial grid.

• €0.170/kWh for socket users.

Romania is the cheapest with €0.317/ kWh, and Switzerland is the most costly with €0.489/kWh. Allego provides the below figures for home charging (on average kWh) in 2019:

• The Netherlands €0.22.

• Belgium €0.28.

• Germany €0.30.

• France €0.15.

• The UK € 0.17.

• Europe €0.22.

When 2022 is considered, the price tag for installing a charger at home varies between €670 and €1,600, according to EVBox; while 64% of EV drivers regularly charge at home as of 2022.

‘The pioneer’ leads best-performing European countries in charging prices:

1- Norway: €0.29.

2- Croatia: €0.31.

3- France: €0.41.

4- Romania: €0.42.

5- Finland: €0.49.

Cost of charging at home in Europe

Home charging is the cheapest option to charge an EV in the long term.

How costly is EV charging in Europe?

What are the charging prices of 2022?

Another study by Drive Electric, published in early 2023, used the most recent data from 2021 and 2022 to reveal charging prices in Europe, from the most expensive to the cheapest. The top five countries with the highest price increase in a year are below (average cost per 10 miles/16 km):

1- Estonia: €0.71 (+146.6%).

2- Poland: €0.36 (+125.7%).

3- Sweden: €0.61 (+87.3%).

4- Slovakia: €0.42 (+81.2).

5- Lithuania: €0.69 (+73.7%).

The minimum and maximum session fees in Europe

The study, which included 30 European countries, shows that while price increases stayed relatively lower, charging costs in Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria remained high:

Denmark: €1.03 (+27.8%).

Germany: €0.98 (+31.7%).

Belgium: €0.91 (+61.9%).

Spain: €0.72 (+56.0%).

The Netherlands: €0.72 (+10.1%).

The UK: €0.71 (+22.9%).

Austria: €0.69 (+52.5%).

Italy: €0.68 (+46.8%).

What is the average cost of electrifying a fleet?

Research by Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in 2021 gives a glimpse of electrification cost with and without charging infrastructure planning:

With charging points included:

• Early stage (1-5 vehicles) – $2,600 to $13,000

• Scaling stage (10-50 vehicles) –$13,000 to $65,000

• Full electrification (100+ vehicles) –$100,000 to $300,000

Without planning the charging points:

• Early stage (1-5 vehicles): $2,600 to $13,000

• Scaling stage (10-50 vehicles): $26,000 to $130,000

• Full electrification (100+ vehicles): $260,000 to $1.3 million