EV Charging Services Study 2025: Significant shifts in the German charging services market – Oil companies surge ahead, energy suppliers and pure CPOs lose ground – Brand importance grows, customer loyalty strengthens, satisfaction remains moderate

EV Charging Services Study 2025: Significant shifts in the German charging services market

Stuttgart, 16 September 2025 – Public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is expanding rapidly, fueled by new EV drivers entering the market. In August 2025, USCALE conducted a comprehensive survey with 2,210 electric vehicle owners in Germany, offering fresh insights into how drivers perceive and use charging providers—including charge point operators (CPOs) and eMobility service providers (eMSPs)—marking the seventh edition of this study.

Key Insights

• Public charging continues its rise: As the number of electric vehicles grows—especially in major cities—public charging is becoming a key part of everyday mobility, increasing both the share of publicly charged electricity and the importance of charging service providers.
• Changing information habits: Drivers are doing substantial research before choosing a charging option. Comparison websites are growing in popularity, while social media is becoming less influential as an information source.
• Price sensitivity fades: Although public debate about charging costs persists in Germany, reliability and availability are becoming more critical to current EV drivers than price.
• Loyalty builds: Most drivers still use multiple providers based on convenience, but the desire for an all-in-one charging service is increasing.
• Customer satisfaction is tepid: just 36% of respondents would recommend their preferred (!) provider, while 34% actively would not. The Net Promoter Score (NPS)—a key measure of recommendation willingness—stands at just two points.

Oil companies competing against utilities and CPOs

• Oil companies gaining momentum: Charging providers from the oil sector have significantly increased their market share over the past year. New EV owners are especially drawn to offerings from oil brands.
• Pressure on utilities and CPOs: Oil companies’ gains have come primarily at the expense of dedicated CPOs—like the Tesla Supercharger network and other charger-focused brands—and traditional energy suppliers.
• Mixed fortunes for other players: Municipal utilities are losing share slightly. After years of decline, roaming providers are seeing growth again. Retail-based charging remains popular but does not rank among top provider choices.

About the Study

The study involved 2,210 EV drivers in Germany in August 2025, focusing on public charging usage. It provides detailed analyses of decision-making criteria, preferences, and loyalty patterns. This research is a core part of USCALE’s EV user journey portfolio and now in its seventh iteration. The full study, titled “CPO/eMSP Charging Services Study 2025,” is available as a B2B marketing product. For broader public communication, we’ve chosen a more concise press headline here.

Expert Perspectives

Dr Axel Sprenger, founder and CEO of USCALE GmbH:

• “We were surprised by how quickly E.ON and Aral gained ground thanks to their brand power. Iconic logos truly make a difference in the charging business.”
• “The competition for charging customers is accelerating. Providers need to offer more differentiation by creating a clear customer benefit profile—simply installing charging stations wherever there is room will not be enough in the future.”
• “It’s remarkable that reliability now outpaces price as the top priority. This clearly indicates that everyday technology performance is not yet meeting expectations.”

Further material

PRESS HANDOUT with graphics
More information on the study
Overview of all study content

About USCALE

USCALE is Germany’s leading market research firm for electric mobility. The company’s studies uncover customer pain points and opportunities across every aspect of the EV user journey. Supported by a proprietary panel of more than 10,000 EV drivers, USCALE provides actionable intelligence for the entire electric mobility sector.

Contact

USCALE GmbH, Silberburgstrasse 112, D – 70176 Stuttgart, +49 711 620014-0, media@uscale.digital