Penance for "wild charging"
One of the biggest challenges for switching to electric cars is the inadequate charging network. Drivers still have to spend far too long looking for a free charging point. If the sales figures for electric cars increase, the problem will automatically worsen.
In addition to the fire hazard of electric batteries in vehicles, the lack of charging stations is another construction site on the road to more sustainable transport. Because of the fire risk, some cities have already abolished electric buses again, such as Stuttgart and Munich. It is too risky for the batteries to catch fire while driving or while parked. Certain General Motors car models are therefore only allowed to park at a distance of 15 metres, as the company has now warned. It is to be feared that electric drivers will therefore switch to a car that is less environmentally friendly.
Another reason why electric cars are now being exchanged for combustion engines is the low number of charging stations. The installation of charging stations lags hopelessly behind the sales of electric cars. When the KfW-bank awarded a premium of 900 euros per charging station, the offer soon had to be discontinued because of the great demand. But the network is still not enough.
The lack of charging stations makes people inventive, as was the case in Baden-Württemberg, where a motorist simply used his household electricity to charge his car. But this is not so easy: laying cables across the public pavement into the house is not permitted and is punishable by a fine. The man had to pay almost 180 euros for "wild charging" because he did not obtain a permit for the special use of the street. Charging at the house network is therefore only recommended if the cable runs exclusively over one's own property, but not over street land that is used by everyone.
In comparison, wild peeing is virtually a bargain: In Stuttgart, you only pay 80 euros for lightening against a tree. The same amount, by the way, as you pay if you drive an old diesel into Stuttgart's environmental zone. As long as such offences are cheaper than the desperate initiative of owners of electric cars to charge their cars themselves, we shouldn't be surprised if the changeover to emission-free traffic can take a long time.