More charging points for cars

FRANCE is to double the number of electric vehicle charging points – or bornes – by the end of this year after MPs passed a law for private companies to install bornes in communes without any.

The law, strongly supported by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg and voted by the opposition UMP, aims to get round the double dilemma of people refusing to buy electric cars as there are no bornes and mairies refusing to install bornes because there are no electric cars.

Mr Montebourg said boosting electric car use would support the French car industry as Renault/Nissan was dominant but “people are scared of running out of charge” and having bornes every 50km would ease the problem as electric vehicles have a range of about 120km.

He added: “We want 16,000 recharging points by the end of 2014 against 8,000 today. Anyone with an electric car will be able to connect to the power network: it’s what I do with my Renault Zoé.”

EDF/Renault and Bolloré have tendered to get involved and they would contact mairies to get a site then set a fee for the cost of the energy used.

Mr Montebourg said a full charge cost €2 and the government’s “éco bonus” of €6,300 off electric car costs made them very competitive. They were selling well in towns of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, those with poor public transport and high travel costs, and sales rose 50% in 2013 from 2012.