Report: China leads the way in EV charging infrastructure globally

The spread of charging infrastructure saw a significant boost over the past twelve months, even as electric vehicle (EV) sales growth slowed somewhat. That is according to the fifth edition of an annual report from Roland Berger, which analyzes the state of EV charging around the globe.

In 2023, the overall ratio of vehicles to charging infrastructure shifted back in the right direction thanks to rapid growth in certain regions. This comes as growth in EV sales slowed noticeably, with headwinds like inflation and other global concerns hitting consumer spending.

Though Europe and the US have made significant strides in the number of new charging points, China is currently clearly the world leader. Homegrown EV technology – spearheaded by fast-growing domestic players like BYD, XPeng, Li Auto and Nio – has led to a sort of golden era in China.

There are some significant differences between different markets. For example, the US has a large proportion of private at-home charging points. Private charging was also the main driver for the growth in charging points in China last year.

While at a global level, 86% of EV drivers charge their vehicles at home, in the US, a remarkable 96% charge with their own private charging point at home. That is likely because of the higher amount of people that live in their own single-family homes in the US.

One of main reasons for the growth in EV drivers in China appears to be related with cost. Almost half of respondents in China believe EVs cost less to drive per kilometer than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles – a higher percentage than all other regions.

More than 80% of respondents to Roland Berger’s survey believe that public charging has become more accessible in the last six months and all markets are moving towards faster charging. In fact, in China, the number of charge points grew by 65% in 2023, reaching 8.6 million units.

China’s homegrown EV charging industry has boomed so much that it is actually now beginning to move towards international expansion. After establishing partnerships with overseas operators starting in 2022, leading Chinese charging companies are now accelerating expansion, notably into Europe.

These companies enjoy advantages in technology and cost efficiency as well as business model flexibility – by also operating as manufacturing subcontractors, for instance. This enables them to rapidly expand their business volume and move into new markets.

“Many markets are aiming to improve user experience by adding quality as well as density to their charging networks,” the report notes.

“This means growth in charging networks is outpacing EV sales growth in some markets – much of Western Europe, for instance. However, this is not yet the case across the board: In the U.S., EV sales are growing much faster than the DC charging network.”

This year, sales of EVs have plateaued in markets in Europe, like the UK and Germany, with charging speeds seen as mostly satisfactory by consumers. But with many more public EV charging stations than in the US or China, EV charging infrastructure has not been able to keep up pace, especially in the United Kingdom.