Car dealers urge for more EVs charging stations

AMMAN — The car dealers said the current number of charging stations in Jordan is low and there should be faster efforts to increase their number.

“People prefer to buy electric vehicles [EVs] because they are more economical… People want to save more money, which make the electric cars a good option, but the lack of stations is a problem,” Fadi Saleem, a worker at a car dealer in Zarqa, told The Jordan Times today.

“The issue of maintenance is not a problem anymore because we have many centres in Jordan who are now experts in maintenance. I think the main problem is the limited number of stations,” he said.

The number of EVs charging stations has reached 63, licensed and operational stations across various regions in the Kingdom. According to the authority’s data, these stations are distributed among 49 public stations and 14 private stations, with the possibility of installing more than one charger at each station. There are 230 charging stations that have obtained construction permits and are in the process of completing licensing procedures, Energy and Minerals Regulatory Authority said in a statement this week.

The authority said it got 145 requests for licenses or permits for the first time related to public and private charging stations last year, distributed as 132 permits for public charging stations, 6 permits for private charging stations and 7 licenses for public charging stations.

“Prices of electric cars are very affordable, but the first question people ask when they want to buy is how long they can drive it for each charge,” Mohammad Abu Ali, a salesman at a car dealer in Amman, told The Jordan Times today.

“If there are more stations, people will be motivated,” he said today.

The Energy and Minerals Regulatory Authority granted more than 3,000 approvals for installing electricity metres specifically for vehicle charging in households.

The authority said that the clearance of EVs increased by 146 percent during the past year, reaching 38,277 vehicles compared to 15,576 vehicles at the end of 2022.