But that’s over now: At the end of last week, wholesale prices on the Leipzig electricity exchange EEX jumped to a record high of 319 euros per megawatt hour. This corresponds to an increase of more than 310 percent.
The wholesale price was still 22 cents per kWh in mid-June
Calculated per kilowatt hour, this results in a price of more than 31 cents per kilowatt hour in July 2022 – that’s how high the consumer price was in 2021! In mid-June 2022, a kilowatt hour still cost 22 cents wholesale. That even nullifies the savings from eliminating the EEG subsidy, which is around 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
In the course of the first half of 2022, the price of electricity for households in Germany had already risen sharply. According to the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries, it was 37.14 cents in June.
As a result, e-car drivers are facing a wave of cost increases: for June to August, suppliers have increased prices or announced increases in 435 cases. Around 6.1 million households are affected by the price increases in the summer. On average, the price increases amount to 22.6 percent and affect around 7.7 million households.
Energy costs for e-cars soon more expensive than for combustion engines?
A petrol engine with an average of 7.7 liters of E10 per 100 km currently costs 14.17 euros – around twice as much. However, if the electricity suppliers pass on the price increases 1:1, 100 km in an electric car would soon cost more than 21 euros.
The best electric cars
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BMW iX |
RRP from EUR 77,300, savings: up to EUR 13,386 |
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Kia EV6 |
RRP from EUR 44,990, savings: up to EUR 14,069 / in leasing from EUR 274 |
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Mercedes EQS |
RRP from EUR 97,807, savings: up to EUR 6,152 |
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Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
RRP from EUR 41,900, savings: up to EUR 12,280 / in leasing from EUR 234 |
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Audi Q4 e-tron |
RRP from EUR 41,900, savings: up to EUR 12,420 / best leasing price: EUR 89 |
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Skoda Enyaq iV |
RRP from EUR 34,600, savings: up to EUR 11,584 / best leasing price EUR 124 |
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Mazda MX-30 |
RRP from EUR 34,490, savings: up to EUR 13,035 / in leasing from EUR 90 |
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Smart EQ for two |
RRP from EUR 21,940, savings: up to EUR 8,240 / in leasing from EUR 77 |
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Tesla Model 3 |
RRP from EUR 46,560; Savings: up to EUR 7,975 / best leasing price EUR 289.00 |
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Opel Corsa-e |
RRP from EUR 30,400; Savings: up to EUR 11,920.00 |
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Volvo XC40 Recharge |
RRP from EUR 48,650; Savings: up to EUR 9570.00 |
In April 2022, the prices at AC charging stations from the major supplier EnBW were already 38 cents per kWh. Fast charging is usually more expensive, with EnBW costing 48 cents per kilowatt hour at the beginning of the year. Other operators charge more, E.ON charges 39 cents for AC charging and 49 cents for DC charging. Individual providers such as B. Hamburg Energie already announced in June that they would increase prices by more than 60 percent.
Charging station providers are still waiting
“The currently rising energy prices are not leaving charging current providers unaffected. And Ionity is also continuing to monitor developments on the energy markets in all European countries very closely,” says a company spokeswoman for AUTO BILD. At the current time, however, no price increase is planned.
EnBW also wants to wait and see: “We currently have no plans to adjust our charging tariffs,” a spokeswoman told AUTO BILD. Even in the current market environment, EnBW, in contrast to many other market participants, would have kept the special tariffs for electric car drivers stable – also for charging at charging points from other operators. However: “In view of the current highly dynamic situation on the energy markets, it is not foreseeable to what extent this can last over the current year.”
What the future will bring in the medium term
The prospects are currently difficult to assess: Today, Germany obtains around 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources. The Bundestag has recently decided that this proportion should be increased to 80 percent. However, this will not be the case until 2030 at the earliest.
At the same time, up to ten million new electric cars are to be registered by this time. This means that the demand for electricity in the transport sector is also growing.
