China's EV charging infrastructure expands in August

China's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure continued to grow in August, data from the country's Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance (EVCIPA) show.

China added 2.4mn EV charging points during the January-August period, a 20.3pc increase from a year earlier. This includes 537,000 public charging points and 1.86mn private ones, representing year-on-year increases of 13pc and 23pc, respectively. Newly-added charging points increased by 44pc on the year to 54,000 in August alone.

China had a total of nearly 11mn charging points as of the end of August, up by 53pc from a year ago, EVPCIA data show. This indicates that on average, there is one charging point for every 2.6 units of EVs.

The country's new energy vehicle (NEV) production totalled 7.008mn units over January-August, up by 29pc from a year earlier, with sales rising by 31pc to 7.037mn over the same period, according to industry data. The NEV penetration rose to 44.8pc in August from 31.6pc in the full year of 2023.

Most charging infrastructure is concentrated in more developed provinces such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, according to EVPCIA's data. Limited charging availability, especially in smaller cities and rural areas, is one of the main reasons why many potential buyers have not opted to buy an NEV. The development of charging infrastructure is expected to boost the country's NEV adoption, industry participants said.