Overview
- EnBW has logged more than 900 cable thefts at over 130 fast-charging sites in 2025, with total damage currently in the low single-digit millions.
- Ionity estimates roughly €2,500–€5,000 in costs per incident, and affected chargers typically remain offline for several days with additional revenue losses.
- Police report no comprehensive national statistics and few arrests, though a Chemnitz stop last week uncovered cutting tools after three cables were found freshly severed nearby.
- Operators cite regional hotspots in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, with Leipzig alone recording 30 cases from January to September.
- Countermeasures under rollout include color-ink cartridges, GPS tracking, brighter lighting, video surveillance, tougher cable sheathing and real-time tamper alarms, with early reports of attempts being abandoned at secured sites.