EV charging obligations for company car parks in Switzerland: what the law really requires in 2026

No: in 2026 no federal law requires a company to install charging points in its existing car park. The rules come from cantonal energy and building law, sometimes from municipal regulations, and they apply almost only to new buildings, usually as pre-installed cabling rather than working chargers.

If you have managed facilities elsewhere in Europe, this is the main surprise: Switzerland has no single national rule, and EU building directives do not apply. This guide maps what does apply, with official sources: module 12 of the cantonal model regulations (MuKEn 2025), the SIA 2060 readiness levels, rules already in force in Bern, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Vaud, Zurich and Lucerne, the planned right to charge (motion 23.3936) and the position of a tenant company. Voltaback works with more than 200 companies on fleet charging, and in our experience the most cost-effective lever is usually at employees' homes, not in the office car park.

Updated 2 November 2026.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• Federal level: no obligation to equip company car parks. Building rules are a cantonal matter.
• MuKEn 2025 (adopted 29 August 2025): an optional module asks that at least 20 % of non-customer spaces in new non-residential buildings be ready at SIA 2060 level "C1". Each canton decides whether to adopt it.
• Cantons: Bern, Neuchâtel and Schaffhausen already set quotas for new buildings; Vaud adds rules for employee spaces from 1 July 2027; Zurich leaves it to municipalities.
• Right to charge: the federal draft, in consultation until 12 October 2026, covers residential buildings only.
• For your fleet: the rules count parking spaces, not vehicles. Home charging remains the cheapest option.

Is there a federal obligation to install EV charging points?

No. Under the Federal Energy Act (Art. 45 EnG), the cantons set the rules on energy use in buildings. The Confederation sets targets, funds programmes such as SwissEnergy and regulates vehicles, but it prescribes no number of charging points for any company car park, new or existing.

Three layers of rules can apply to your site:

1. Cantonal energy law (act and ordinance), which adopts the model regulations of the Conference of Cantonal Energy Directors (EnDK) more or less fully.
2. Cantonal planning and building law, which sets the required number of parking spaces and sometimes their equipment.
3. Municipal building regulations (Bau- und Zonenordnung / règlement communal), where the canton gives municipalities that power.

A multi-site company therefore has to check site by site: the same car park project triggers different duties in Bern, Zug or Geneva. Costs and steps are covered in our guide to installing charging stations at work.

MuKEn 2025: what does the e-mobility module require?

The cantons' model energy regulations (MuKEn in German, MoPEC in the Romandy cantons) were adopted by the EnDK at its plenary meeting on 29 August 2025. They consist of a basic module, which all cantons are asked to adopt, and optional additional modules.

EV charging sits in module 12, which is optional. It sets two principles: in new buildings, a suitable share of parking spaces must be prepared or equipped for charging; and once basic infrastructure exists, a later charging station may not be refused.

Source: MuKEn 2025, module 12, EnDK, EnDK MuKEn 2025 overview.

What this means in practice:

• MuKEn is a model, not law. Until your canton writes module 12 into its own legislation, current cantonal rules apply.
• It asks for prepared spaces, not chargers in service. With 100 staff spaces in a new building, it would mean 20 spaces ready for a charger, not 20 chargers.
• Customer spaces are excluded from the 20 % rule.

SIA 2060 readiness levels A, B, C1, C2 and D

The SIA 2060 technical bulletin "Infrastructure for electric vehicles in buildings" (2020 edition, under revision) is the technical reference that cantons and municipalities point to. It is a technical bulletin (Merkblatt / cahier technique), not a binding standard: it only becomes mandatory when a law or ordinance refers to it.

Sources: Canton of Basel-Stadt, levels C1 and C2, Canton of Schaffhausen, levels B and D.

For how the components fit together (protection, load management, metering), see our explainer on EV charging infrastructure in Switzerland.

What do the cantons already require?

The picture is uneven. We checked the rules below in official documents as of 2 November 2026. Other cantons have similar provisions, so always check with the cantonal energy office and the municipality before starting a project.

Bern and Schaffhausen: level D for 20 % of spaces

• Bern (Art. 56a of the building ordinance, BauV): new buildings for "other uses" and public car parks need level D for at least 20 % of spaces (at least one), level A for the rest. Source: EN-LIEM BE form.
• Schaffhausen: new or extensively converted non-residential buildings and car parks from 10 spaces, 20 % at level D; existing public car parks with more than 60 spaces, 2 % at level D by 2030. Source: Canton of Schaffhausen.

Neuchâtel, Vaud and Geneva

• Neuchâtel: since 1 July 2024, all required spaces in new buildings at level B at least; in non-residential buildings, at least 20 % at level D (minimum one, maximum thirty). Source: Neuchâtel Council of State decree of 25 March 2024.
• Vaud: the new cantonal energy act enters into force on 1 January 2027, its Article 42 on charging on 1 July 2027. In new buildings or car parks, half of the employee spaces need cable conduits and half of those a cable connected to the main board; the act also asks for progressive equipment of employee spaces as the fleet evolves. Source: State of Vaud.
• Geneva: newer residential buildings must already be pre-equipped, so cantonal subsidies target collective residential car parks with a building permit before 2023: up to 50 % of costs, CHF 500.– per space for the first ten, capped at CHF 20'000.– per car park. These grants concern housing, not company car parks. Source: State of Geneva.

Zurich, Lucerne and Basel-Stadt

• Zurich: no cantonal quota, but since August 2025 municipalities may set minimum charging readiness for parking spaces in their building regulations (§ 244 para. 4 PBG). Source: Canton of Zurich.
• City of Lucerne: since 1 August 2026, new or renovated company car parks and car parks need 20 % of spaces at level C2. Source: electrive.net.
• Basel-Stadt relies on subsidies: 60 % of eligible costs, up to CHF 1'300.– per private charging point, programme running until the end of 2030. Source: Canton of Basel-Stadt.

Worked example: a new head office with 80 staff spaces

20 % of 80 is 16. Even in the strictest case, the duty is far from one charger per vehicle. Grants by canton are listed in our article on funding for workplace charging stations.

The right to charge: where does motion 23.3936 stand?

With motion 23.3936 (Grossen), Parliament instructed the Federal Council to secure access to a charging station for tenants and condominium owners (Stockwerkeigentum / PPE) in residential buildings. The Council of States approved it on 11 June 2025 by 24 votes to 18, against the Federal Council's recommendation. An earlier attempt (21.3371) failed in 2023. Source: Swiss Parliament, 11 June 2025.

On 19 June 2026 the Federal Council opened a consultation on an amendment to the Energy Act. The draft provides that:

• owners of residential buildings may have to build a basic installation when a tenant or condominium owner asks for it;
• the basic installation covers pre-wiring to the space, a system to allocate consumption and load management;
• the right applies to people with exclusive use of a space linked to their home, including subtenants, and the work must be reasonable for the owner;
• for rentals, costs can in principle be passed on through the parking space rent; civil courts settle disputes.

The consultation closed on 12 October 2026. As of this update, the Federal Council has not yet published the results or a dispatch to Parliament, so the text may still change. Source: Federal Office of Justice, consultation notice.

For employees in a condominium today (owners' decision, double majority under Art. 647d of the Civil Code), see our guide to charging stations in condominiums.

Tenant company: who decides on charging stations?

If your company rents its premises, any charging station is an alteration of the rented property. Art. 260a of the Code of Obligations requires the landlord's written consent, and unless agreed otherwise the landlord may ask for the premises to be restored at the end of the lease.

The planned right to charge does not cover commercial leases, only housing, so negotiation remains your lever. Source: Code of Obligations, Art. 260a.

Checklist before the first quote:

• Who pays for the basic installation and the chargers?
• Who owns them at the end of the lease, and must they be removed?
• Which meter records the charging electricity, and who pays for it?
• Who operates and maintains the system (backend, faults, billing)?

Put the answers in a lease addendum.

Four common misconceptions

• "EU rules apply in Switzerland too." False. The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is not part of Swiss law. Cantonal and municipal law are what count.
• "Every employer must offer charging to staff." False. No provision obliges an employer to supply charging electricity.
• "MuKEn 2025 already applies everywhere." False. It is a model, its e-mobility module is optional, and each canton decides whether and when to adopt it.
• "The right to charge will force my commercial landlord to equip the car park." False, in the consultation draft. It covers residential buildings only.

What it means for your fleet

The cantonal rules count spaces, not vehicles. MuKEn itself notes that most charging today takes place in buildings, at home and at work. For company cars parked overnight at the employee's home, home charging is the simplest and usually the cheapest option.

Worked example for a fleet based in the canton of Zurich:

• mileage: 15,000 km per year per car;
• consumption: 18 kWh/100 km, about 3,000 kWh at the meter including charging losses;
• Zurich median 2026 (H4 profile, excl. VAT): 24.8 Rp./kWh;
• home charging cost: about CHF 745.– per car per year.

Source: ElCom electricity prices by municipality. The real price depends on each employee's network operator and on high or low tariff periods.

To reimburse those kWh accurately, you do not need a connected wallbox at every employee's home. Voltaback reads charging data directly from the vehicle (more than 48 car brands connected) and applies the employee's real contract tariff. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The measurement was audited by an independent third party (1.22 % relative error), and the company never receives drivers' location data (nFADP / nDSG). Learn more about home charging reimbursement.

On site, size to real needs: first the cantonal and municipal minimum, then actual uses (pool cars, visitors, employees with no home charging). The installation recommendation simulator helps choose the right setup for each driver. If you are electrifying step by step, our article on fleet electrification sets out the method.

Next steps

Start by checking your canton's and municipality's rules, site by site. Then size the rest to your fleet's real use, including home charging.

Managing a fleet in Switzerland? In 30 minutes we review the minimum for your sites and the real cost of your employees' home charging: talk to a Voltaback expert. For chargers on site, the charging station installation page explains how to obtain and compare installer quotes.