Article of the month:
Renault is looking at additional shifts to two plants as EV sales surge, up as much as 50% in Germany and France. After a banner 2025, EV sales are setting new records as households flee the costs and uncertainties of combustion in favour of the affordability of electric transport. Because of the delay between car orders and deliveries we are just starting to see the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Scenario modelling by the European Commission points to possible prices (around 180 USD / barrel) more than double current prices by the end of the year.
Who would opt for a combustion car in that scenario when new EVs reach ever greater levels of performance and cost-savings? (There are now multiple European-made cars with over 800km range).
But how long will this last?
At some point oil flows will return to ‘normal’ levels, and with them, oil prices should return to a baseline. The European Commission scenario mentioned above sees this happening by the end of 2027.
But that doesn’t mean that EV sales will also go back to their previous trajectory because there is another change on the horizon. As oil has gotten more expensive, electricity, at more and more times, has gotten cheaper. Not the average price of electricity. But when it comes to EVs, the average cost of electricity is unimportant. But the number of hours when electricity is cheap.
In 2025, Belgium had over 500 hours of negatively priced electricity. That is, electricity customers on dynamic tariffs would have been paid to consume electricity. Consumption that can easily come in the form of charging your car. Why didn’t they? Well, in much of Belgium dynamic tariffs were unavailable. This is changing, and not just in Belgium. This month Ireland introduced dynamic tariffs for the first time and next month France will introduce them too. For more and more Europeans getting paid to drive, or paying rock-bottom electricity prices, is becoming an option. And that, my friends, is the long-term energy price trend that means we can expect the current EV boom to continue for years to come. The future is here but it is spread unevenly. AccelerateEU and the Electrification Action Plan will help spread that future more quickly and widely.
Changing the charging business
Car lobbyists in Brussels will be pointing out right now that not everyone can charge at home or charge when prices are negative – which is true! But negative pricing, and predictable periods of low electricity costs are making cheap charging available to everyone.
On May 1st, which saw prices hit -500EUR/MWh in much of western Europe, one German chain of highspeed chargers offered free charging from 12-3. And why not? When you get paid to consume, as chargers do, their business model changes to maximise profit and customer satisfaction. Who doesn’t like free? Other charging networks in Austria and France have also introduced dynamic charging, letting drivers who cannot charge at home benefit from the increasing hours of very cheap, clean and abundant electricity.
These changes are much more than marketing. They are a natural maturing of the charging industry and it will make EVs every more appealing to more and more people.
Electric vehicles: slashing mobility costs
A recent report from CONCITO quantified the cost savings to households that invest in EVs and heat pumps. The EV savings ranged from 900-1800 EUR per year. A substantial amount but the report suffers from a condition common to EU policy-makers and corporate strategies: they don’t move as fast as the energy transition. These figures are pre-crisis AND they use average electricity prices rather than the more likely prices that come from charging when prices are low.
Those two factors can boost the savings significantly. How much? It’s a bit of a fool’s game to guess where oil prices will go and estimate just how much EV drivers will save.
What’s clear is that no one wants to be the base case, the petrol car driver being extorted send to be compared against.
Electrification strengthens Europe’s energy security, reduces emissions, and most importantly for many families today delivers real savings on monthly bills. The transition is no longer only about climate ambition. It is increasingly about affordability, stability and energy independence.
This month’s article was written by Adrian Hiel Director of the Electrification Alliance. More of his writing can be found here.
News from the Electrification Alliance:
- On June 3rd, the Electrification Alliance co-organised an event with its member T&E, hosted in the European Parliament by MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin. The event, entitled “Energy security starts on the road, electrification as Europe’s strategic choice”, brought together senior policymakers and experts in Brussels to explore the strategic link between transport electrification, EU car CO2 standards, and Europe’s long-term energy security. More here.
- New paper – The EU Electrification Action Plan as a tool for energy independence: we published an Annex to our Electrification Action Plan Paper which goes through 10 priorities the European Commission should include in its plan to ensure this energy crisis is the last one Europe faces. You can consult the paper here.
- Fossil Dependence Days: the Electrification Alliance partnered up with EMBER to launch the Fossil Dependence Days concept. Inspired by Earth Overshoot Day, this project identifies the date on which a country stops relying on domestic energy and starts relying on imported fossil fuels. Find out more. By the way, the EU crossed it’s fossil dependence day on June 6.
- Together with T&E and E3G, the Electrification Alliance asked 5,149 people across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland about energy security, electrification funding, and European cooperation. The results are out and the outcome might be less binary that you expect. Find out here.
- Industrial heat electrification is gaining momentum in Europe, but where do we actually stand today? Join CLIMACT and the Electrification Alliance on 17 June (14:00-15:00 CET) for a webinar exploring the state of industrial heat electrification in Europe. You can register here.
News from members:
E-Mobility Europe’s latest EV Bulletin is out, and the numbers are striking. In April, 22.7% of newly registered cars in key European markets were battery electric. That’s 206,541 BEVs in a single month, a 34% jump year-on-year, and a year-to-date total of over 740,000 vehicles. These EVs contribute to displacing nearly 3 million barrels of oil per year – at a time when Europe’s energy security is tested. The leading markets? Germany (25.8%), France (26.2%) and Italy, the fastest-growing, up 97.2% YTD. What drives uptake? A confident policy. The fastest growing markets bring together industrial investment with measures such as leasing schemes, purchase support, scrappage deals, and tax breaks. When policy and consumer demand reinforce each other, the pace of innovation accelerates, and the numbers show it. Read the full bulletin here.
On 27 May the European Heat Pump Association’s members voted in a new Board of directors, which then elected patrick crombez, General Manager Environmental Research Centre – Daikin Europe, as its president for a second time. The new Board and president have a two-year mandate. Find out more.
Eurelectric is just back from sunny Helsinki where they hosted their annual Power Summit, bringing together over 750 leaders from across the energy sector, industry and policy, alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen and Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera. Two landmark initiatives were unveiled at the event. Power Couples sets out a new model for industrial electrification partnerships that convert volatile energy costs into predictable, bankable outcomes, offering Europe a concrete path to industrial competitiveness. The era of electric intelligence formalises a cross-sector alliance between Europe’s power and digital industries to integrate data centres sustainably into the power system, alongside an AI catalogue of 50 real-world use cases of AI deployed across European utilities. “A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us in Helsinki, and we are already looking forward to welcoming you back for Power Summit 2027”.
In a new interview published on May 12 with EMPower_energy, smartEn Smart Energy Europe‘s Executive Director Michael Villa unpacks why Demand Side Flexibility has moved well beyond the pilot phase and is now a strategic asset for European industry to cut costs, ease grid pressure, and stay competitive as renewables scale and electrification accelerates. Read the full interview here. And if you want to find out more, stay tuned for smartEn’s upcoming best-practice report, which will bring this to life with real-world implementations across steel, cement, water management, agriculture, chemicals, and more.
EuropeOn – The European Electrical Contractors Association is celebrating Electricians’ Day on June 10th! Electricians’ Day is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on Europe’s 2.7 million electrical professionals working across more than 420,000 companies. These skilled professionals are essential to advancing electrification and supporting a more resilient and energy-independent Europe. Read more here.
Submissions are open for the 13th edition of the RGI Grid Awards, your chance to spotlight inspiring solutions that are shaping the future of sustainable electricity grids and driving the energy transition forward. Organised by the Renewables Grid Initiative, the awards celebrate impactful and collaborative achievements across three categories including technological innovation, environmental protection, and public engagement. Submit your entry by 5 July and share your success with a global audience. As Europe accelerates electrification, energy security and climate action, electricity grids must move from political priority to practical implementation. To support this discussion, in May RGI published an explainer on the European Commission’s Grids Package and the proposed revision of the TEN-E Regulation, unpacking key concepts related to European grid planning and investment. RGI’s CEO, Antonella Battaglini, joined FORESIGHT Climate & Energy’s Policy Dispatch podcast to discuss what the Grids Package gets right, where further action is needed and how it can help deliver Europe’s resilience, competitiveness and clean energy transition. Lastly, the Renewables Grid Initiative will host the Best Practice Webinar ‘Resilient & Optimised Power Grids: Circular Copper for European Energy Security’ on 8 July, showcasing how circular solutions can strengthen grid supply chains while reducing social and environmental impacts. Sign up!
T&E has published a wave of new research worth reading if you follow EU transport and industrial policy. On company cars: in two-thirds of EU Member States, corporate tax systems send no clear signal to go electric. T&E’s updated dashboard maps how fleet taxation across Europe is quietly prolonging oil dependency. On the CO2 rules debate: the stakes are industrial. Scaling back EV targets could mean losing the equivalent of 34 Northvolt-sized battery factories in investment. T&E’s full analysis is a sobering read for anyone watching the Brussels negotiations. On trucks: Europe’s truckmaking giants are prioritising shareholder returns over zero-emission investment, and T&E argues they risk losing ground to new competition as a result. On the Industrial Accelerator Act: T&E welcomes the proposal but warns loopholes must be closed to anchor a real European battery value chain. Julia Poliscanova and Diane Strauss go further, asking whether the IAA can still be a lifeline for Europe’s struggling battery factories.
SolarPower Europe is heading to Intersolar Europe 2026 in Munich from 22 to 25 June, with a packed agenda. CEO Walburga Hemetsberger , Deputy CEO Dries Acke and the wider team will be hosting sessions, taking meetings and running the booth at B3.107. Two flagship reports are launching at the event. The Global Solar Market Outlook 2026-2030 drops on 22 June with a press launch and presentation at ICM Room 14A. The European Battery Storage Market Outlook 2026-2030 follows on 23 June at the EES Forum. Both are an essential reference for industry professionals seeking a clear, data-driven picture of solar’s expanding global role. And on 21 June, the longest day of the year, Solar Day returns with a “Solar Stories” campaign. Stakeholders and the public are invited to share and engage under #EuropeanSolarDay
Lastly, WindEurope is celebrating the Global Wind Day on 15 June. For this year’s edition they are focusing on the local benefits wind energy brings to local communities – everything from local tax payments, to community funds, participation models and co/ownership of wind turbines. You can join the Global Wind Day campaign “Our wind, our community” by either submitting your best practice or by simply posting your community engagement highlights on social media, using the hashtag #GWD26
This article was originally posted as part of the Watt’s Next Electrification Alliance newsletter. For timely updates subscribe here.