Israel’s electric-vehicle charging infrastructure is lagging far behind demand and is becoming a major obstacle to wider EV adoption, according to a chapter in the State Comptroller’s report. The report, compiled between late 2025 and 2026, says the country’s EV fleet grew sharply, reaching about 224,700 fully electric vehicles on Israeli roads by the end of 2025, up nearly 1,400% from 16,251 in 2021.
Against that growth, public charging remains sparse. As of April 2025, there were 7,907 public charging sockets nationwide, including only 1,514 fast-charging points and the rest slow chargers that can take hours. Based on the market size at the end of 2024, the existing infrastructure could serve only about 4.9% of Israel’s electric cars at the same time. The comptroller said the gap creates a major psychological and practical barrier and deepens range anxiety. Citing a Central Bureau of Statistics survey, the report said 97% of EV owners feel there is a shortage of public chargers, and 51% of users of fast chargers say they are usually working but occupied.
The comptroller also said there are no clear goals or strategy for the sector, and no new quantitative or geographic targets for public charger deployment have been set since 2018. Most local authorities still lack an organized plan, and Amendment 3 to National Outline Plan 18, which concerns chargers at fuel stations, has not yet been finally approved. Another obstacle is property rights and unauthorized installations: legislation to regulate chargers in existing apartment buildings has been discussed for years but is still unfinished. In the absence of regulation, the report says, disputes between neighbors are increasing, car purchases are being delayed, and unsafe “pirate” installations are appearing.
The report also gives broader environmental figures. In 2024, the external cost of air-pollution emissions in Israel reached about 36.9 billion shekels, of which transportation accounted for about 10.9 billion shekels, or nearly 30%. Heavy vehicles make up only 7.2% of the vehicle fleet and 12.4% of annual mileage, yet they account for 44% of transport-related air-pollution costs. The truck fleet is also aging, with average truck age rising from 5.1 years in 2000 to 9.4 in 2021 and 9.5 in 2024. The comptroller recommended that the Environmental Protection Ministry complete rules for the end-of-life treatment of electric and hybrid vehicle batteries, either by amending the environmental treatment law for electrical and electronic equipment or by passing a dedicated recycling law.
