Public EV chargers refer to charging facilities set up in public areas such as public car parks, commercial hubs, and transport terminals to provide charging services for all road users. As a cornerstone of the new energy vehicle (NEV) ecosystem, public chargers primarily cater to EV owners who lack access to private home chargers while at work, shopping, or travelling, serving an indispensable role in supporting long-distance journeys and on-the-go top-ups.
Categorised by charging method, public chargers are broadly split into two key types: DC fast chargers (rapid chargers) and AC chargers (slow chargers). DC fast chargers convert AC electricity from the grid directly into DC power to recharge the battery pack, delivering high output and rapid charging times ideal for highway rest stops and commercial centres where quick turnaround is essential; AC chargers supply AC electricity through the vehicle's onboard charger to replenish the battery, operating at lower currents with longer charging times, making them better suited for locations with longer parking dwell times like office parks and shopping mall car parks.
In terms of target users, public charging infrastructure is further classified into public utility chargers (fully accessible to all private motorists) and dedicated commercial chargers (catering to specific vehicle fleets such as e-hailing cars and logistics vehicles).
China has established the world's largest public EV charging network. As of end-2025, the national inventory of public EV chargers reached 4.72 million units, accounting for 71% of the global total. A total of 1.138 million public charging points were installed across 2025, recording a 31.8% year-on-year surge and reversing the previous year's slowing growth momentum. By the end of 2026, the nationwide public charging infrastructure is projected to reach 6.207 million units, comprising 3.015 million DC fast chargers and 3.192 million AC chargers.
Looking at supply and demand dynamics, the incremental ratio of public chargers to new EV registrations improved from 1:3.7 in 2021 to 1:1.9 in 2025, narrowing further to 1:1.4 in Q1 2026, indicating that overall public charging deployment has largely matched the pace of EV adoption. High-power charging stations are rolling out rapidly, with the average power per public charging gun reaching 46.5 kW, a 33% increase year-on-year.
The public EV charging landscape is driven by three main categories of players. State-owned enterprise (SOE) operators, led by State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, Sinopec, and PetroChina, leverage their extensive energy infrastructure to deploy charging networks. Third-party Charge Point Operators (CPOs), represented by TELD, Star Charge, and YKC, form the backbone of the market. Automaker-backed CPOs, including Tesla, NIO, and BYD, focus on building closed-loop charging ecosystems tailored for their own vehicle owners. As of March 2026, the top three operators by public charging gun count are TELD (480,000 units), Star Charge (380,000 units), and DiDi Charging (370,000 units). The combined market share of the top five CPOs has dropped from 81.5% in 2019 to below 60%, with regional small and medium-sized operators gaining ground rapidly.
The public charging sector continues to face heavy operational headwinds. Average charger utilisation stands at just around 10%, leaving a substantial volume of equipment idling or running at poor efficiency. Charging service tariffs have consistently declined, generally dropping to between RMB 0.20 and RMB 0.80 per kWh, leaving the majority of operators unprofitable. Meanwhile, many legacy low-power chargers built during earlier phases can no longer support the latest high-power ultra-fast charging demands, resulting in defunct "zombie chargers". In terms of geographical distribution, charger uptime in prime areas of Tier-1 cities exceeds 85%—though fast-charging shortfalls persist—while uptime in Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities as well as suburban townships remains below 50%.
The industry is pivoting from pure "volume expansion" to "quality enhancement". On the regulatory front, the "Three-Year Doubling Action Plan for Electric Vehicle Charging Facility Service Capacity" aims to establish 28 million charging facilities nationwide by end-2027. Public institutions are required to equip at least 25% of their parking bays with EV chargers, with DC fast chargers making up 20% to 40% of that share. Effective 1 August 2026, EV charging hardware will be subject to mandatory CCC (China Compulsory Certification) standards. Technologically, high-power ultra-fast charging, solar-storage-charging integration, and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems are gaining commercial traction, with AI smart grid management and virtual power plant (VPP) systems transforming public charging hubs from basic "energy top-up stops" into "smart energy hubs".
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