EV charging on solar: how many panels it takes, country by country
Dataset · Updated 21 June 2026 · 24 countries · 3,120 kWh/yr per car
Driving an average 12,000 km a year on sunshine takes just 5 extra 400 W panels in Mexico but 10 in Austria. Either way it is a small add-on — the car needs roughly a third to four-fifths of what a single 5 kWp roof already makes. Fewer panels than most people expect.
Extra panels to drive on sunshine, by country
Full table
| # | Country | Yield | kWp needed | Panels | Share of 5 kWp roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 1781 kWh/kWp | 1.75 kWp | 5 | 35% |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 1670 kWh/kWp | 1.87 kWp | 5 | 37% |
| 3 | Spain | 1569 kWh/kWp | 1.99 kWp | 5 | 40% |
| 4 | United States | 1566 kWh/kWp | 1.99 kWp | 5 | 40% |
| 5 | Portugal | 1485 kWh/kWp | 2.1 kWp | 6 | 42% |
| 6 | Italy | 1422 kWh/kWp | 2.19 kWp | 6 | 44% |
| 7 | Greece | 1367 kWh/kWp | 2.28 kWp | 6 | 46% |
| 8 | South Korea | 1353 kWh/kWp | 2.31 kWp | 6 | 46% |
| 9 | Japan | 1324 kWh/kWp | 2.36 kWp | 6 | 47% |
| 10 | Canada | 1190 kWh/kWp | 2.62 kWp | 7 | 52% |
| 11 | France | 1171 kWh/kWp | 2.66 kWp | 7 | 53% |
| 12 | Poland | 1040 kWh/kWp | 3 kWp | 8 | 60% |
| 13 | Czechia | 1019 kWh/kWp | 3.06 kWp | 8 | 61% |
| 14 | Taiwan | 1012 kWh/kWp | 3.08 kWp | 8 | 62% |
| 15 | Australia | 1005 kWh/kWp | 3.11 kWp | 8 | 62% |
| 16 | Germany | 998 kWh/kWp | 3.13 kWp | 8 | 63% |
| 17 | Denmark | 984 kWh/kWp | 3.17 kWp | 8 | 63% |
| 18 | Netherlands | 981 kWh/kWp | 3.18 kWp | 8 | 64% |
| 19 | Switzerland | 928 kWh/kWp | 3.36 kWp | 9 | 67% |
| 20 | South Africa | 927 kWh/kWp | 3.37 kWp | 9 | 67% |
| 21 | Ireland | 883 kWh/kWp | 3.53 kWp | 9 | 71% |
| 22 | United Kingdom | 880 kWh/kWp | 3.55 kWp | 9 | 71% |
| 23 | Sweden | 829 kWh/kWp | 3.76 kWp | 10 | 75% |
| 24 | Austria | 786 kWh/kWp | 3.97 kWp | 10 | 79% |
How we worked this out (methodology)
An average European car drives 12,000 km a year and uses about 0.2 kWh/km (~20 kWh/100km real-world, MDPI 2024), so it burns roughly 2,400 kWh at the wheel. Adding 30% for weather, the solar-to-charging timing gap and inverter losses, the panels must make about 3,120 kWh a year. We divide that by each country's specific yield (PVGIS, at the country centroid) to get the extra kWp — and 400 W panels — needed to drive on sunshine. Yield-only: no tariffs, currency or FX. These match the assumptions in our EV-charging guide.
This is an annual energy balance, not a daily one — the real challenge is timing your charging to when the sun shines. We walk through that, and the cost side, in charging an EV with solar.
See the yield for your own roof
Free, no sign-up. Your address → payback, NPV, incentives and a 25-year cashflow on real climate data. An estimate, not a sales quote.
Calculate my solar savings →