Private electric mobility in Europe: what’s the situation?

Despite the increasing focus placed on public transport, the private vehicle is still the mode of transport by which the greatest number of transfers are made and, according to the 2014 Isfort (Istituto superiore di Formazione e Ricerca per i Trasporti [Higher Institute of Transport Training and Research]) Report, it scores highest in terms of user satisfaction. The spread of e-mobility must not fail to take this into account.

It is not by coincidence that the electric car is often presented in public debate as a possible solution, especially in cities, to the various transport problems such as noise pollution, as well as providing an interesting opportunity to limit and reduce the dependence on traditional fuels.

The development of electric mobility also falls within the concept of transport modernisation, acting as a fundamental link in the transformation of cities into a smart cities. Through the electrification of vehicles and the spread of a smart and interconnected recharging network, mobility also becomes an essential element of the Internet of Things, which will enable the monitoring of citizens’ consumption and habits, the optimisation of services, territory control and urban planning.

At a European level, private e-mobility could play a front line role in achieving objectives for the reduction of CO2  emissions within the transport sector. This is all the more important in the light of the ambitious targets that the European Union has set itself compared to the United States, China and Japan, aiming for a cap of 95 gCO2/km by 2020.

To comply with the EU directives, those cars that are introduced onto the road in 2020 would have to produce on average less than 40-60 gCO2/km. On this basis, target values have been set for each EU member country, relating both to the number of vehicles on the road by 2020 and to the minimum number of recharging infrastructures, in order to ensure effective penetration of private e-mobility.

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Pietro Farinati