According to the latest “Licznik AFIR” published by the Polish Association for New Mobility (PSNM), Poland has public charging capacity more than twice the requirements of the European AFIR regulation, but charging hubs remain too far apart along the motorways of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The data cover the first three quarters of 2026 for new installations and the end of September for the vehicle fleet. The report shows a contrast between excess overall capacity and persistent geographic gaps on major road corridors.
Large excess in overall capacity
Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR), directly applicable since 13 April 2024, sets two types of obligations: a minimum capacity relative to the vehicle fleet and a deployment along the TEN-T network. For the first category, at least 1.3 kW of public capacity is required per 100% electric vehicle (BEV) in categories M1 or N1 (passenger cars or light commercial vehicles), and 0.8 kW per plug-in hybrid (PHEV). In the first three quarters of 2026, Poland installed 1,640 new direct current (DC) charging points. The total capacity of the public infrastructure reached nearly 724 MW, after rising from about 407 MW to 770 MW during 2025 according to earlier reports. The relevant fleet comprised about 336 thousand BEV and PHEV vehicles at the end of September. According to Jan Wiśniewski, director of the PSNM Research and Analysis Center, Poland meets the capacity obligations with a surplus of more than double, and this margin should hold at least until 2027. Other sources indicate an achievement rate of 230% at the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Gaps along the TEN-T network
For geographic deployment, AFIR requires a charging area for cars and light commercial vehicles at least every 60 km along the TEN-T core network, with a minimum capacity of 400 kW per area until 2025 and 600 kW until 2027, in each direction of travel. According to the November 2026 Licznik AFIR, the coverage rate of the core network reaches 37% for the 2025 obligations and 28% for those of 2027, up by 5 and 7 percentage points in six months. Figures from May 2026 indicated 31% and 21%. On the TEN-T comprehensive network, the rates are 15% and 11.6%, compared with less than 6% previously. The PSNM points to a paradox: nearly 100 areas meet the 2025 capacity requirements, but if the distance between two areas exceeds 60 km by even one kilometre, the section is not counted in the coverage. The equipped corridors include the A2, A1 and A4 motorways and the S8, S3, S5, S17, S12 and S19 expressways.
Electric heavy-duty vehicles lagging behind
For electric heavy-duty vehicles (eHDV), AFIR requires that by the end of 2027, half of the TEN-T core network be equipped with charging areas of at least 2,800 kW each, rising to 3,600 kW in 2030. The achievement rate of these targets in Poland hovers around 0%, or between 0 and 1.5% according to the May 2026 reports. Public charging points for eHDV operate in only 9 locations, of which only 3 meet the EU power criteria, or in 7 locations according to other sources money.pl et tech.wp.pl et wnp.pl. About 600 electric trucks are registered in Poland. The obstacles cited include long grid connection procedures, low demand and the lack of sufficient support programmes. GDDKiA plans to build eHDV stations at 11 service areas (MOP) in 2026, and at all 166 within five years. The PSNM calls on the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) to speed up the processing of subsidy applications for vehicles in categories N2 and N3.
The European context
At the level of the European Union, the number of 100% electric cars and light commercial vehicles rose from 2.17 million in 2021 to 7.64 million at the end of 2025, while charging points rose from 303,000 to 1,062,000, with an aggregate capacity of 37,170 MW against a required minimum of about 14,000 MW. The average capacity per point rose from about 26 kW to 35 kW, an increase of 35%. For heavy-duty vehicles, about 22,500 electric trucks and 242 hydrogen trucks are registered in the EU, with about 2,000 charging points fully suited to trucks out of a total of 22,000 points of 350 kW. AFIR provides for more than 20,000 points dedicated to heavy-duty vehicles along the TEN-T by 2030. The revision of the AFIR regulation is planned for the end of 2026.
Sources
This article was written from the sources above.