E-mobility has major potential in CEE
Roland Berger study: Austria currently has about 600 electric cars
The Austrian car market is playing a leading role in e-mobility in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): Austria ranks top followed by the Czech Republic and Poland. The driving force behind e-mobility is utilities and car manufacturers. Except for Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, the CEE region is largely taking a wait-and-see stance. And Austria is the only country in the region with an e-mobility strategy in place – government support is needed to drive this development forward. Role models include countries such as Germany, France and Denmark, which are really pushing to expand their e-mobility infrastructure. A look into the future reveals the potential: almost 25% of cars sold in CEE in 2025 are expected to be electric-powered. These are the findings of a study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants entitled "E mobility in Central and Eastern Europe". The study included eight countries in the region: Croatia, Austria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
"Although we have seen some very interesting e-mobility initiatives in the CEE region in recent years, there is still major potential to be tapped. All key stakeholders, be they utilities, automakers or governments, need to work in close partnership and learn from the best practice examples of countries such as Germany and France to push e-mobility further in CEE," explains Alexander Kainer, energy expert at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Vienna.
Austria: Currently about 600 electric cars
Austria is the region's e-mobility leader, given that it has the highest number of registered electric vehicles (roughly 600, of which 370 are in pilot projects). The sector there is profiting from the involvement of major utilities in pilot projects across five model regions as well as government financial support. Countries such as Germany, France, Denmark and England have a considerable head start. A few examples: Germany is currently supporting eight model regions. Denmark offers major subsidies that cover over 30% of an electric car's purchase price. In London, electric cars can park in the city center for free and are exempt from the congestion charge. Furthermore, considerable investments are being pumped into the infrastructure (1,300 charging stations by 2013). And already next year, French carmakers will be launching seven e-models on the market. Compared with other CEE countries, the Czech Republic and Poland have only modest pilot projects. "Austria aims to have 250,000 EVs on the streets by 2020 and offers significant subsidies for EV buyers. In the Czech Republic and Poland, the financial support is much less," says Roland Zsilinszky, automotive expert at Roland Berger's Prague office. The other CEE countries (Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia) lag even further behind. The main reason for this is the lack of involvement on the part of utilities and carmakers in these countries.
Wanted: Utilities and car makers
Outside of Austria, utilities and automakers in the Czech Republic and Poland have major interest in e-mobility. "The Czech energy group CEZ shows how pilot projects and infrastructure can drive e-mobility forward," says Zsilinszky. E-mobility pilot projects should primarily serve to generate know-how by testing the infrastructure and business models.
Concrete action from governments needed
Clear support from the authorities is crucial, especially right after the launch of e mobility programs. In the current environment, low or nonexistent government subsidies put up a serious roadblock to the spread of e-mobility. "To boost e-mobility in the other CEE countries, their authorities should take Austria's lead. They need to dedicate an educated team, develop target-based strategies and define concrete actions," notes Kainer.
Tapping the CEE region's major e-mobility potential
The role e-mobility will play in future transportation systems in CEE will be just as crucial as in Western European countries. "France, Denmark and Germany are demonstrating impressively how e-mobility can develop from a mere vision of the future into reality. The CEE countries under review can learn a lot from them," says Kainer. Almost 25% of new cars sold in 2025 in CEE are expected to be electric-powered, that is, over 640,000 new EVs on the street every year. Although e-mobility has already been established in CEE, Roland Berger experts do not expect the boom to truly take off before 2015. By then, mass production of EVs will be ramped up and the number of EV users is likely to grow, especially in the B2B segment at first. The B2C segment will start to grow in 2020, if the production costs of EVs, batteries and accessories can be cut. "The key question is no longer whether e-mobility will come, but rather how fast, where first and what can we do to actively shape it. Early involvement is therefore necessary as demand could climb faster than expected. Only players with mature products and solutions in place will be able to benefit from it," concludes Kainer.
The Austrian car market is playing a leading role in e-mobility in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): Austria ranks top followed by the Czech Republic and Poland. The driving force behind e-mobility is utilities and car manufacturers. Except for Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, the CEE region is largely taking a wait-and-see stance. And Austria is the only country in the region with an e-mobility strategy in place – government support is needed to drive this development forward. Role models include countries such as Germany, France and Denmark, which are really pushing to expand their e-mobility infrastructure. A look into the future reveals the potential: almost 25% of cars sold in CEE in 2025 are expected to be electric-powered. These are the findings of a study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants entitled "E mobility in Central and Eastern Europe". The study included eight countries in the region: Croatia, Austria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
"Although we have seen some very interesting e-mobility initiatives in the CEE region in recent years, there is still major potential to be tapped. All key stakeholders, be they utilities, automakers or governments, need to work in close partnership and learn from the best practice examples of countries such as Germany and France to push e-mobility further in CEE," explains Alexander Kainer, energy expert at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Vienna.
Austria: Currently about 600 electric cars
Austria is the region's e-mobility leader, given that it has the highest number of registered electric vehicles (roughly 600, of which 370 are in pilot projects). The sector there is profiting from the involvement of major utilities in pilot projects across five model regions as well as government financial support. Countries such as Germany, France, Denmark and England have a considerable head start. A few examples: Germany is currently supporting eight model regions. Denmark offers major subsidies that cover over 30% of an electric car's purchase price. In London, electric cars can park in the city center for free and are exempt from the congestion charge. Furthermore, considerable investments are being pumped into the infrastructure (1,300 charging stations by 2013). And already next year, French carmakers will be launching seven e-models on the market. Compared with other CEE countries, the Czech Republic and Poland have only modest pilot projects. "Austria aims to have 250,000 EVs on the streets by 2020 and offers significant subsidies for EV buyers. In the Czech Republic and Poland, the financial support is much less," says Roland Zsilinszky, automotive expert at Roland Berger's Prague office. The other CEE countries (Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia) lag even further behind. The main reason for this is the lack of involvement on the part of utilities and carmakers in these countries.
Wanted: Utilities and car makers
Outside of Austria, utilities and automakers in the Czech Republic and Poland have major interest in e-mobility. "The Czech energy group CEZ shows how pilot projects and infrastructure can drive e-mobility forward," says Zsilinszky. E-mobility pilot projects should primarily serve to generate know-how by testing the infrastructure and business models.
Concrete action from governments needed
Clear support from the authorities is crucial, especially right after the launch of e mobility programs. In the current environment, low or nonexistent government subsidies put up a serious roadblock to the spread of e-mobility. "To boost e-mobility in the other CEE countries, their authorities should take Austria's lead. They need to dedicate an educated team, develop target-based strategies and define concrete actions," notes Kainer.
Tapping the CEE region's major e-mobility potential
The role e-mobility will play in future transportation systems in CEE will be just as crucial as in Western European countries. "France, Denmark and Germany are demonstrating impressively how e-mobility can develop from a mere vision of the future into reality. The CEE countries under review can learn a lot from them," says Kainer. Almost 25% of new cars sold in 2025 in CEE are expected to be electric-powered, that is, over 640,000 new EVs on the street every year. Although e-mobility has already been established in CEE, Roland Berger experts do not expect the boom to truly take off before 2015. By then, mass production of EVs will be ramped up and the number of EV users is likely to grow, especially in the B2B segment at first. The B2C segment will start to grow in 2020, if the production costs of EVs, batteries and accessories can be cut. "The key question is no longer whether e-mobility will come, but rather how fast, where first and what can we do to actively shape it. Early involvement is therefore necessary as demand could climb faster than expected. Only players with mature products and solutions in place will be able to benefit from it," concludes Kainer.
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