Six years after Greece first launched its ambitious program to promote electric vehicles (EV) through financial incentives and infrastructure development, the country’s transition has not met expectations. While there has been progress, the initial enthusiasm has waned, hampered by insufficient charging networks and slow charging speeds—a crisis that reached a breaking point recently with widespread protests by taxi drivers.
The infrastructure gap in Greece for electric vehicles
According to data from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, cited by To Vima newspaper, Greece currently has approximately 3,900 publicly accessible charging stations, totaling over 9,100 charging points. Distribution remains uneven:
- Attica: ~1,000 stations
- Northern Greece: ~700 stations
- Western Greece & Peloponnese: ~950 stations
- Crete: ~300 stations
- Aegean Islands: ~400 stations
Pantelis Capros, Professor of Energy Economics at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), speaking to Vima, emphasizes that the lack of robust networks and fast chargers is the primary barrier. “When there isn’t a satisfactory charging system, you simply cannot drive where you want,” Capros notes, contrasting the Greek situation with countries like China, where charging points are integrated into local neighborhoods.
European comparisons
By the third quarter of 2025, the European Union boasted over 851,000 public charging stations. France, Germany, and the Netherlands alone account for more than 60% of this total. In terms of market share for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during the first nine months of 2025, Greece lagged at 5.5%, significantly trailing leaders like Austria (21.5%), France (18.2%), and Germany (18.1%).
Dimitris Patsios, General Director of the Association of Motor Vehicle Importers (AMVA), told Vima that while new electric car registrations rose from 0.4% in 2019 to 14.3% in 2025, the market has hit a plateau.
“After the initial leaps, the market now requires additional support, such as greater traffic ‘freedoms’ for electric vehicles and explicit priority for small zero-emission trucks in urban centers,” Patsios suggests. He also highlights a structural problem: Greece is “championing” the use of aging vehicles, with one in two cars on the road over 20 years old, which exacerbates urban pollution and complicates the transition to cleaner energy.
Taxi drivers’ resistance to electric vehicles
The most vocal opposition comes from Greece’s taxi sector. Professional drivers remain vehemently opposed to new legislation mandating the transition to electric taxis.
Thymios Lymperopoulos, President of the Attica Taxi Drivers’ Syndicate (SATA), argues that the current technology is “unprofessional” for the trade. “Charging a vehicle fully requires three to four hours. That essentially costs us an entire shift,” he says. Lymperopoulos also points to the hidden costs of EV taxis, noting that frequent use of fast chargers significantly degrades battery life, with replacement costs for a large vehicle reaching approximately 25,000 euros.
Related: Greece Has the Oldest Car Fleet in Europe
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