Award: Golden Plug for Canton Zug
In order for electromobility to be accepted by the people, there must be a broad and affordable range of vehicles, a comprehensive charging network that is accessible to all, and sufficient renewable energy.
This was the conclusion of the 1. Swiss Electromobility Conference in Bern, during which the canton of Zug was awarded the Golden Plug 2023. The award is presented annually to a canton, city or municipality that is making exemplary efforts to develop electromobility.
This year, for the first time, the award was presented jointly by the directors of auto-schweiz, Swiss eMobility and the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE). Cantonal planner René Hutter accepted the Golden Plug 2023 on behalf of the Zug cantonal government.
Top of the canton ranking
With a 29.3 percent share of plug-in vehicles in new passenger cars after the first five months of the current year, Zug topped the cantonal ranking. The Swiss average at the end of May was 26.7 percent. This put Zug just ahead of Valais and Thurgau. The basis for the boom in demand for plug-in vehicles is presumably also the high density of public charging stations there: With 19 publicly accessible charging stations per 10,000 inhabitants, the canton ranks fourth in Switzerland.
Industry meeting for electromobility
The three associations auto-schweiz, Swiss eMobility and the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) have joined forces to organize a national and cross-sector conference on electromobility. The variety of topics at the first event ranged from vehicle and battery technology to the design of the power grid and charging infrastructure to the use of e-vehicles in large logistics fleets or at Swiss Post.
The opening greeting came via video message from Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).
The next conference is scheduled for June 11, 2024.
