The next time you plan to have a coffee break in a place that used to have a perfectly functioning electric vehicle charger, an essential component maybe missing from the charger. Criminals seem to be interested in (relatively short, but copper-laden) cables attached to high-power chargers.

I successfully charged my EV at this Ionity charger in southern Spain, but a sticker in the cable caught my eye. It says:

“Caution! GPS alarm-protected cable.”

Most, perhaps all public chargers, I have used are under camera surveillance, and often located at service stations, hotel or shopping parking places, but still there is a risk that cables are removed and recycled by criminals. Similar GPS tracking method for charging cables is being used, at least in the UK, and Germany.