With the spread of electric cars, the number of charging networks in Europe is constantly increasing. This is also the case in Germany, where a previously unknown form of crime has recently been causing a serious problem. In Germany, the theft of charging cables for electric cars is on the rise.
Photo: STEFAN SAUER / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP
Leading charging network operators have been calculating the damage for years, but recently the numbers have jumped dramatically: one of the largest providers registered more than 900 stolen cables this year alone, reports Automobilwoche.
The damages are already several million euros
Cable thieves usually work at night at abandoned charging stations, for example in the parking lots of department stores or shopping centers, and use flex or cable cutters to tear the thick, many-kilogram charging cables into pieces.
Photo: AFP
These are then sold to metal dealers – despite the fact that the real material value of the wire is only a few dozen euros, while the removal of a single cable costs the service provider thousands of euros, including repair and restart costs. The damages are already several million euros.
Owners of electric cars are in trouble
It is also not uncommon for a charging point to be without repair personnel for weeks, so the mutilated stations are out of service for a longer period of time, which causes serious problems for the owners of electric cars living in the area.
E‑car drivers have to look for an alternative location – sometimes a considerable distance from their home.
The intensity of the thefts is such that in certain regions (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Saxony) particularly many cases are registered. However, police statistics do not reflect reality, because such thefts are not necessarily recorded in a separate category.
