A three-dimensional view of Charging infrastructure equity

Using Sweden as a case study, this policy brief argues that electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure equity requires a focus on private charging rather than just public charging. The analysis reveals that private charger density is positively correlated with disposable income and negatively correlated with car density, meaning chargers are most concentrated in wealthy urban areas where car ownership is lowest. The authors highlight a critical lack of official data on private charging and argue that private charging is essential for cost-effective, flexible energy use. They recommend that municipalities collect data at the postcode level to identify and address structural inequalities in charger deployment.

• There is a significant lack of official data on private charging infrastructure, which hinders the ability of policymakers to set informed targets for EV expansion. Most current KPIs and regulations, such as the European Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, focus exclusively on public charging despite the assumption that 50% to 80% of charging occurs at private locations.
• Analysis of Swedish data shows that private charger density is higher in urban areas with higher disposable income, while car density is higher in other parts of the country where private charging access remains low.
• Aggregated municipal data can mask significant internal disparities in charging access. For example, in Gothenburg, while the mean private charger density is 58% above the national mean, 69% of its postcodes actually have charger densities below that national mean.
• Private charging is identified as the primary strategy for an equitable transition because it allows for 'smart' demand flexibility, which reduces grid peak loads and lowers costs for owners. Public charging is significantly more expensive; slow charging at home is estimated at 1.5 SEK/kWh, whereas fast charging (150 kW) can cost 299% more at 5.99 SEK/kWh.
• Transformation costs to fossil-free transport vary by geography; they are lowest in high-density areas like Stockholm due to better public transport options and highest in low-population regions such as Gislaved and Arvidsjaur.

APA

Xylia, M., & Joshi, S. (2022). A three-dimensional view of Charging infrastructure equity. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/3d-charging-infrastructure-sei2022.020-1.pdf

Chicago

Xylia, Maria, and Somya Joshi. A three-dimensional view of Charging infrastructure equity. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/3d-charging-infrastructure-sei2022.020-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Xylia |first1=Maria |last2=Joshi |first2=Somya |title=A three-dimensional view of Charging infrastructure equity |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=June 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/3d-charging-infrastructure-sei2022.020-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{xylia2022threedimensional, author = {Xylia, Maria and Joshi, Somya}, title = {{A three-dimensional view of Charging infrastructure equity}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/3d-charging-infrastructure-sei2022.020-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }