Analysis 04.12.2018

Poland not yet ready for electric cars

Today, the Polish-British initiative for electromobility will be signed at COP24. Meanwhile, there are fewer electric car charging points in Poland than in the Czech Republic, and the construction of the first Polish electric car is delayed.

Background

In 2016, the government presented ambitious plans that envisaged the development of e-mobility in Poland. MinEner Krzysztof Tchórzewski and then Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that by 2025, there would be a million electric cars on Polish roads. There were plans for the first prototypes of electric cars to be tested in 2018 – those models were to be later mass-produced. The “Plan for the development of e-mobility in Poland” adopted by the government in March 2017 assumed, among other things, that a network of charging stations will be developed while industry and business would become more involved in the development of the sector. We already know that some of those ideas and promises will not be implemented within the provided deadlines. Despite this, Poland wants to promote e-mobility during COP24 in Katowice.

Update

Few electric cars. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), in the first three quarters of 2018, 411 fully electric cars were registered in Poland. This is only slightly more than, for instance, Slovenia (348), which has a population 19 times smaller than Poland. In the same period, 547 plug-in hybrids were also registered. A low demand for such cars in Poland is the result of a small number of charging stations, a high cost of electric cars and a lack of state support. Electric cars might become more popular in Poland when the government exempts its owners from the excise tax (Polish authorities have applied in Brussels for such an exemption). MinEner Tchórzewski also said that in 2019, the purchase of electric cars would be subsidised up to PLN 25,000. Funding for that purpose is set to be allocated in the new Low-Emission Transport Fund (FNT).

Charging stations are mainly state-owned. According to ACEA data, at the end of 2017, 552 electric car charging stations were available in Poland – fewer than in the Czech Republic (684) or the Netherlands (32,800). Systemic solutions for the development of charging stations were introduced in the act on e-mobility, which came into force in February 2018. MinEner assumes that by 2020 there will be around 6,500 charging stations in Poland (including approximately 400 stations with fast charging capability). This will be achieved through state-owned companies and institutions such as PKN Orlen, Lotos, GDDKiA, PKP, PGE and Tauron. Other entities, including Innogy (ING) and Slovakia’s Greenway are also investing in charging stations. If the number of charging stations still remains small, it is likely that local governments will need to come up with new localisations while energy companies will be tasked with their construction.

Polish electric car in its infancy. ElectroMobility Poland, which was set up in October 2016, was tasked with constructing Poland’s first electric car with PGE, Energa, Enea and Tauron each providing PLN 2.5 million in initial capital. A year ago, MinEner announced that in autumn 2018, the first prototype would be completed. It turned out, however, that ElectroMobility Poland failed to find the right business partners to implement the project, so it became fully responsible for the construction and launch of Poland’s electric car. So far, the company has only managed to open and judge the competition for the visualisation of the car’s exterior. However, since the company was founded, energy companies have twice had to recapitalise it. The overall funding amounted to PLN 70 million.

Tender for electric buses without Solaris. In January 2018, the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) announced a tender for the concept and delivery of over 1,000 electric buses for Polish cities. Nine bidders applied for the tender, including Volvo and Solaris. In the end, three remained (Autosan, Ursus and Silesian University of Technology) while the others withdrew their bids. The companies' proposal included the development of the concept for PLN 27-29.6 million and the delivery of electric buses for PLN 35.2 billion. Solaris admitted that it withdrew from the proceeding because, among other things, it would need to transfer intellectual rights to the NCBR. The decision of large producers to withdraw from the tender has reduced the chances of implementing a government-sponsored e-bus programme. The Silesian University of Technology does not have any production facilities, Ursus has problems with financial liquidity and Autosan may be too small to implement such an order.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Lack of progress in the development of e-mobility in Poland shows that such an ambitious project was deeply unrealistic. The programme failed to attract large private businesses, which has jeopardised the project’s future (the order for electric buses and the development of Poland’s first electric car). In addition, it remains fragmented and there is a visible lack of proper coordination between the state institutions involved. Meanwhile, Poland wants to promote e-mobility at the COP24 climate summit. In the eyes of foreign institutions, such declarations may not be credible due to insufficient action on climate change and other issues. For instance, Poland is abandoning coal-based energy production at a much slower pace compared to EurCom’s guidelines.

Leszek Baj szef redakcji (+48) 22 436 71 65
l.baj@politykainsight.pl