Spain vs. Germany: Where is it cheaper to charge an electric car?

Charging an electric car battery in Spain is significantly cheaper than in Germany, with a difference of ten euros per full charge.

According to research by Switcher.ie, an Irish price comparison company, the average cost of a full charge in Spain is €15.71 (€4.31 per 100 kilometers), while in Germany it is €25.73 (€7.06 per 100 kilometers), making the latter the most expensive country in Europe for charging electric vehicles.

Spain ranks fourth among major European economies with the lowest energy prices, surpassing Italy (€20.30 per charge) and France (€19.09 per charge).

The main reason for this difference lies in the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which in Germany is 0.39 euros, compared to the average of 0.24 euros in Spain.

The Switcher.ie study, which analyzed 38 European countries based on the cost of charging electric vehicles at home and using data from the 25 best-selling models in each market, placed Denmark as the second-highest-cost country (€24.56 per charge), followed by Ireland (€24.14). At the other end of the spectrum, the countries with the cheapest energy for electric vehicles are Kosovo (€4.87 per charge), Georgia (€4.59), and Turkey (€4.05).

Despite the considerable difference in charging costs, the price advantage has unfortunately not translated into higher sales volumes of electric cars in Spain compared to Germany. In May, Germany registered 43,060 battery electric vehicles (BEVs), a 44.9% increase year-on-year, even with the reduction in demand subsidies for electric vehicles in favor of new tax breaks for 2025.

In contrast, Spain sold 9,051 electric cars in May, and although it experienced a significant growth of 106% compared to last year, its market share remains far below that of other powertrains.

By May, the German market had sold 201,563 fully electric models, almost six times more than the 35,111 electric models registered in Spain, highlighting the gap in electrification progress between the two countries.