EV charging requirements for car parks

The roll-out of electric vehicles comes with growing obligations on charging infrastructure. Developers, local authorities and building managers must now equip or pre-cable their car parks, or fall behind both the regulations and users' needs.

Pre-cabling and installation

The regulations distinguish two levels. Pre-cabling means installing the ducts, cable trays and boards needed to make it possible to add charge points later, at lower cost. Installation means putting in actual charge points. Depending on the type of building and the size of the car park, one or the other applies, with specific thresholds and deadlines.

Thresholds by car park

Obligations depend on the type of building (residential or not), on whether it is new or existing, and above all on the number of spaces. Above a certain threshold, the car parks of non-residential buildings must have a minimum number of charge points, with a share accessible to people with reduced mobility. The largest car parks are the most affected.

The driving role of local authorities

Beyond their own buildings, local authorities shape the territorial charging network, on public roads and public car parks. They weigh slow destination charging against fast charging, and watch over the network's consistency and accessibility. This planning requires knowing exactly what already exists before deciding where to install.

Accessibility and signage

• a share of charge points must be accessible to people with reduced mobility;
• the bays are signed and reserved for charging;
• siting must stay consistent with walkways and parking;
• pricing and access terms must be clear for the user.

Know what exists before acting

Meeting the obligations first means knowing what you have: how many charge points, where, at what power, in what condition, in which car parks. Without this stocktake, there is no way to measure the gap with the regulations or to plan the missing installations. The survey always comes before compliance.

Funding and support

Installing chargers is an investment, but support schemes exist to help, notably for local authorities and on certain networks. Most require a documented project: location, power ratings, number of points, consistency with what exists. A clear stocktake of the fleet and the needs makes it easier to put these files together and to prioritise the sites to equip first.

Pre-cabling, the right reflex at the right time

The best moment to prepare for charging is during works: resurfacing a car park, construction, renovation. Laying the ducts and providing the power at that point costs a fraction of what a later retrofit would demand. Knowing which car parks are due to be renovated, and anticipating their pre-cabling, avoids paying twice and being forced into it later.

Anticipating rising demand

The number of electric vehicles is growing fast, and with it the demand for charging. A fleet sized for today will soon be saturated tomorrow. Anticipating means tracking the actual use of existing chargers, spotting the sites nearing saturation and planning increases in power or number of points. Up-to-date usage data turns the roll-out into a strategy rather than a constant game of catch-up.

Surveying your chargers with KARTES

KARTES records each station and each charge point on a map, with its site, power, connector type and condition. You see the coverage of your territory or estate, spot the car parks to equip and track the progress of the roll-out. The data serves both regulatory compliance and planning, from surveying what exists to steering the installations.

Key points

• The law requires pre-cabling or installation in car parks according to their type and size.
• Non-residential car parks above a threshold are the most affected.
• A share of points must be accessible to people with reduced mobility.
• Surveying what exists comes before any compliance work.