Electric vehicle charging stations experienced their busiest period of the year in August. During the month, more than 3.5 million charging processes consumed a total of 97,469 MWh of electricity. In January, this number was 60,124 MWh, representing a 62% increase in eight months. This situation, also influenced by summer holiday traffic, shows that charging stations have now become a part of daily life.

The number of vehicles is increasing, and charging infrastructure is struggling to keep up

Behind this intensity is the rapidly growing vehicle fleet. The number of electric vehicles in Türkiye increased by 53% in one year, reaching 476,934. The number of charging sockets also increased by 43% in the same period, reaching 47,908. However, since the number of sockets did not increase at the same rate as the number of vehicles, the number of vehicles per socket increased from 9 to 10.

A big leap in ultra-fast charging

The recent shift of investors towards more powerful units is partially closing this gap. The number of ultra-fast sockets above 150 kW increased by 63 percent in one year.

Users prefer DC fast charging

Users clearly prefer fast charging. Although DC sockets make up less than half of the total sockets, 85.5 percent of the power consumed is drawn from these sockets. While a charge in DC takes an average of 34 minutes, this time increases to approximately 3 hours in AC.

The busiest hour is 4 PM, the busiest day is Saturday

Looking at electric vehicle charging habits, the busiest hour is seen to be 4 PM. More than half of the daily consumption occurs between noon and 8 PM. Stations are largely empty during nighttime hours. Consumption is 17 percent higher on weekends compared to weekdays. The busiest day of the month was Saturday, August 15th.

Istanbul ranks first, holiday routes stand out

Among the cities, Istanbul is clearly in first place with 22 percent of consumption. It is followed by Ankara and Izmir. The inclusion of Balıkesir and Muğla in the top 10 reflects the impact of holiday traffic, while Bolu’s inclusion in the list reflects the influence of the Istanbul-Ankara route.

40% of the market held by two brands

In energy sales, Trugo and Zes together hold 40% of the market. 62% of the electricity consumed was supplied from green stations, which are documented as being produced from renewable sources.

The real test in charging infrastructure lies ahead

Although the figures seem positive, there is a point to note in the table. The number of vehicles is increasing faster than the number of sockets, and consumption is concentrated at certain times, on certain days, and on reasonable routes. This means that queues at high-speed charging stations on highways lengthen, especially during holiday and summer vacation periods. Despite this, most stations remain empty at night. This situation increases the value of applications such as time-based pricing that will encourage night charging. In the coming period, it is not only the number of stations that will determine the electric vehicle charging experience. The ability to use these stations in the right place, with the right power, and at the right time will be just as crucial as the number of stations themselves.

At what times do you charge your electric vehicle the most? You can share it with us in the comments.