Public EV Charger Roll Out: 15 Million to be Installed!

DATAportl forecasts that more than 15 million new public EV chargers will be installed from 2024 to 2031 (inclusive). This equates to an installed base of more than 20 million public chargers worldwide.

China was both an early mover and a major investor in EVs and the infrastructure to support them. It accounts for the largest share of the global installed base of public EV chargers. While China’s annual rollout is expected to slow from 2029 as it approaches critical mass, other countries are forecast to accelerate their deployment plans.

Regions with the largest installed base of EV charging stations after China include Western Europe, North America, and South Korea.

One challenge faced by public EV charging station operators is the variety of EV charging connectors used by vehicles in different regions. For countries with a large domestic BEV production market, this is less of an issue. However, in almost every country globally, a portion of vehicles on the roads are imports, leading to the need for compatible charging infrastructure. Efforts to standardize EV connectors continue, but these efforts are currently occurring at a regional level rather than globally.

AC EV charging stations are forecast to account for more than half of the global installed base in 2024, with DC EV charging stations making up the remainder. By 2031, it is expected that AC chargers will account for nearly two-thirds of the total installed base globally. However, the mix of AC and DC charging infrastructure varies significantly by region and country.

Stronger growth is projected for EV charging station deployments in forecourts, public premises, and private premises over the next five years compared to on-street locations. This is largely due to an acceleration of destination-type deployments, such as in shopping mall car parks, hotels, and dedicated EV charging hubs, which are often incentivized by government subsidies. In many regions, city traffic is minimized through park-and-ride schemes and no-parking zones, further reducing opportunities for on-street charger installations.