Sweden on 5th place in Europa in transition to EV

The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom are the countries that are best prepared according to the survey, which also highlights that the expansion of the charging infrastructure is the big brake on the electric car revolution.

These are the conclusions of LeasePlan’s 2021 EV Readiness Index – a comprehensive analysis of the preparedness of 22 European countries for the electric vehicle revolution. The Index is based on three factors: EV registrations, the maturity of EV infrastructure, and government incentives in each country.

Key findings for 2020 include:

• Almost all countries show an improved score compared to last year, signalling increased EV readiness across the continent. The rate of improvement, however, varies significantly across Europe, with Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic having both the lowest scores and the slowest improvement rate, underlining the continued disparity between Western and Eastern Europe in terms of EV readiness.

• EVs have never been more affordable. In 11 countries, EVs are already cheaper than their ICE counterparts on a TCO basis. In addition, EV drivers pay on average only 63% of the tax that ICE drivers pay. Austria, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and the UK are leading the charge: in these countries, EV drivers pay no driver tax at all.

• Charging infrastructure is still lagging and will be key to improving EV readiness going forward. Although some progress was made in 2020 on charging infrastructure, the rate of improvement actually dropped compared to last year (43% increase rate in 2020 compared to 73% increase in 2019). Even in top-ranked countries, charging infrastructure remains far from adequate

- Our EV Readiness Index shows that even though electric cars are more affordable than ever, the expansion of the public charging infrastructure in Europe is still not extensive enough. It is simply too slow and the green transition is thus slowed down sharply. Leaders and politicians in these countries must get involved and invest in a common, affordable and sustainable infrastructure before it is too late, the climate crisis is not put on hold,says Malin Malm at LeasePlan Sweden.- An example that risks slowing down the transition in Sweden further is the increased benefit values that the government is planning. The majority of the climate bonus cars sold today are bought by legal entities, and if we reduce the incentives for companies and their employees to choose electric cars, we will put the brakes on the entire country's transition to a green fleet,Malin Malm continues.

What’s Next in EVs – Report The EV Readiness Index 2021 is published as part of LeasePlan’s new ‘What’s next in EVs’ report. The report provides detailed insights into the latest trends, models and technology that will shape the EV industry in 2021, as well as in-depth analysis on the EV readiness of each country.