Cui Dongshu: The total number of charging infrastructure piles reached 4.08 million in May, a year-on-year growth rate of 25%
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on June 20, Cui Dongshu published an article stating that according to data analysis from the China Charging Alliance compiled by the China Charging Federation Branch, the total number of charging infrastructure piles reached 4.08 million in May 2025. The number of piles in May increased 91,000 over the previous month, an increase of 18,000 compared to May last year, with a growth rate of 25%. There are currently 10.32 million private piles with cars, an increase of 245,000 in May compared to the previous month, an increase of 3%; in May, a single pile charged 1,580 degrees per month, which is a good increase of 1,358 degrees in May last year.
In recent years, China's charging infrastructure has developed rapidly, and it has built the largest number, widest range of services, and the most complete variety of charging infrastructure systems in the world. According to the charging utilization rate of utility piles is 3 times that of private piles, that is, the ratio of charging facilities to pure electric vehicles reached 1.03 in January-May 2025. Basically, there is a 1:1 relationship. Due to the sharp increase in pile installations, the overall increase in the car-pile ratio has reached a relatively generous level of 1:1.
Currently, the charging infrastructure still has problems such as inadequate layout, unreasonable structure, poor technology for old charging piles, unbalanced service, and unstandardized operation. There has been an increase in the return rate of electric vehicle purchases in some low-tier regions. I believe that as the scale continues to increase, the adjustment is less difficult, and electric vehicles have great potential for improvement.
Currently, DC charging piles are being developed on a large scale, and leading operators have performed well. The average charge of GAC Energy's charging stations reached 6804 degrees in May, and the performance is excellent every month. The charging capacity of the NIO (09866) charging pile reached around 2,354 degrees. Tesla (TSLA.US) reached 2,893 degrees, and they all performed very well. However, the average charge of some old charging piles is only over 100 degrees per month. The average monthly charge of the main charging companies is at the level of 1,000 degrees, and the difference in charging power between several times and tens of times is extremely large. Some focus on the future trend of rapid growth of new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles. It is necessary to further build a high-quality charging infrastructure system, update old AC low-power piles, increase the upgrade of high-power DC fast charging, better meet the needs of the public to purchase and use new energy vehicles, and help promote the green and low-carbon transformation of transportation and the construction of modern infrastructure systems.
1. The overall state of the charging pile
Charging infrastructure provides charging and switching services for electric vehicles, and is an important transportation energy integration infrastructure.
The number of public piles increased by 340,000 in 2021, and the number of private piles with cars increased by 600,000. The annual increase in piles decreased by 18% compared to 2020, and the annual increase in private piles decreased by 32% compared to 2020.
In 2022, the number of private piles increased by 650,000, and the number of private piles with cars increased by 1.94 million. The annual increase in piles was 92% compared to 2021, and the annual increase of private piles was 226% compared to 2021.
The number of public piles increased by 930,000 in 2023, and the annual growth rate of public piles reached 43% compared to 2022; the number of private piles with cars increased by 2.457 million compared to the end of 2022, and the annual increase of private piles was 27% compared to 2022.
The number of public piles increased by 850,000 in 2024, and the annual increase in piles decreased by 8% compared to 2023; the number of private piles with cars increased by 3.37 million compared to the end of 2023, and the annual increase of private piles was 37% compared to 2023.
The total number of charging infrastructure piles reached 4.08 million in May 2025. In May, the number of piles increased by 91,000 over the previous month, an increase of 18,000 compared to May last year, an increase of 25%. There are currently 10.32 million private piles with cars, an increase of 245,000 in May compared to the previous month, an increase of 3%; in May, a single pile charged 1,580 degrees per month, which is a good increase of 1,358 degrees in May last year.
2. Monthly growth status of charging piles
The number of public charging stations at the end of May 2025 increased by 504,000 compared to the end of 2024, and the growth rate is relatively fast. At the end of May 2025, the number of private charging stations increased by 1.08 million compared to the end of 2024, and the growth rate was relatively fast.
The number of power exchange stations at the end of May 2025 increased by 3.76 million compared to the end of 2024, and the growth rate has been rapid in recent months.
Charging stations are dominated by private charging. According to the survey, charging is generally carried out through self-owned charging piles, shared charging piles, and public charging piles within the community or company, each accounting for between 22% and 26%, reaching an overall rate of about 75%. Insufficient respondents charged at public charging stations and other places on the side of the road outside the community, and some were charged at public charging stations attached to shopping malls, cinemas, etc.
3. Analysis of characteristics of public charging piles in various regions
In May 2025, the number of public charging stations in Guangdong increased by 5,560, an increase of 12,700 compared to May last year. The share reached 6%. This year's share has declined.
The situation of public charging stations varies greatly from place to place. The main thing is that developed cities have larger charging stations. The construction of charging stations in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Beijing is relatively good. The state of charging facilities in Beijing is already large, and growth is slowing down; the same is true in Shanghai.
The current ratio of domestic utility piles to cars is far better than in Europe and America, but there is a problem of insufficient utilization: First, there is insufficient coverage. Currently, 10% of expressways are still uncovered in service areas, and rural charging infrastructure coverage is less than 5%; second, the structure is unreasonable. 99% of charging facilities are still fast charging and slow charging, and 64% of public DC charging piles are still low voltage piles of 750V and below, which cannot support the development of the next stage of 800V and above high voltage ultra-fast charging. At the micro level: First, operation and maintenance costs are high. Dumb equipment accounts for more than 30%, and the degree of digitalization is low, which increases the difficulty and cost of operation and maintenance management; second, the quality of traditional air cooling equipment is poor. The life span of the equipment is only 3-5 years, and operators face replacement before they have recovered their investment; third, the quality of service is poor. Zombie piles account for 10% and cannot be charged, increasing users' anxiety about charging.
4. Analysis of characteristics of charging companies
Charging pile operators in China can be broadly divided into four types: 1) Integrated charging pile manufacturing and charging network investment and operation enterprises, mainly using the asset-heavy model, focusing on the operation of their own assets, and cooperating with other operators and third-party platforms, including Star Charging (affiliated with Wanbang Digital), Wanma Aicheng (Wanma shares), Putian New Energy, Shanghai Ewei Energy, and Shenzhen Vehicle Power Grid (Kelu Electronics shares), etc. 2) The power grid builds its own charging pile network, including the State Grid (State Grid Electric Vehicle Service Co., Ltd.) and China Southern Power Grid (China Southern Power Grid Electric Vehicle Service Co., Ltd.). 3) Large car enterprise groups build their own charging networks, including Tesla, NIO, Xiaopeng, SAIC Anyue, GAC Energy, etc. Some of these car companies' charging network construction and operation will be outsourced to asset-based charging operators and third party charging service providers. 4) Third-party charging network operators, such as Cloud Fast Charging, Xiaoju Charging (affiliated with Didi Chuxing), Shenzhen Huineng, etc., mainly use an asset-light model, focus on the huge long-tail charging pile market, and provide Saas services to regional operators. Essentially, they are IT service providers.
The domestic charging pile operation industry has four major competitive barriers: capital, space, grid capacity, and data resources. Currently, it has shown the Matthew effect, and the market concentration of leading companies has increased. Currently, DC charging piles are being developed on a large scale, and leading operators have performed well. The average charge of GAC Energy's charging stations reached 6804 degrees in May, and the performance is excellent every month. The charging capacity of NIO's charging stations reached around 2,354 degrees. Tesla reached 2,893 degrees, and they all performed very well. However, the average charge of some old charging piles is only over 100 degrees per month. The average monthly charge of the main charging companies is at the level of 1,000 degrees, and the difference in charging power between several times and tens of times is extremely large. Tesla's monthly data remains stable, and the data is very good.
Charging piles are subdivided into two categories: DC piles (fast charging) and AC piles (slow charging). DC charging piles: They are large in size, have the characteristics of high voltage, high power and fast charging, and require higher power grids. They are usually built in places such as highway service areas, buses, etc., so the number is small, accounting for about 20%. AC charging piles: They are relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to install. They are usually privately owned, so they are numerous and widely distributed, accounting for more than 80%. Judging from the development trend of technology, DC piles are gradually moving in the direction of high-power development.
Judging from international comparisons, public dedicated charging stations are the most effective, and the orderly charging effect for fixed charging requirements such as buses is very effective. The number of public DC charging stations and the density of DC charging stations are growing worldwide. China is leading the way in promoting DC charging stations: for example, in 2024, the share of DC charging stations in China's public network will exceed 42%. At the same time, the Middle East has become a rising “rising star” in terms of DC charging piles: the share of DC charging piles increased by 7% in 2022, reaching more than 21%; DC charging density increased by 125%, reaching 1.3 DC charging piles per 100 kilometers of road. The data for both of these areas will grow even more rapidly.
The ultimate charging experience should have three characteristics: First, worry-free charging. It provides one-click service, visual charging station status, and intelligent guidance. Second, charging is trouble-free. The charging process is super quiet, and the gun does not jump once it is successfully charged. Third: No worries about charging. Vehicle pile cloud collaboration prevents electromagnetic interference and ensures personal health and property safety. AC piles have two major flaws. One is that they cannot interact with power grids; they can only recharge energy in one direction, and do not support V2G evolution; second, they cannot collaborate; they lack digital interconnection between piles, and there is no information interaction. Compared with traditional AC piles, low-power DC solutions can better realize vehicle network interaction and digital experience, bringing three major values: faster charging, not limited by OBC, charging speed increased by 3-5 times; long-term evolution, supporting plug-and-play charging, point settlement, V2G, etc.; mass deployment, under the same power conditions, can achieve 3 times the coverage rate and increase the utilization of municipal electricity by 50%.
5. Analysis of the ability of charging piles to meet demand
In May 2025, 613,900 pure electric passenger cars were sold domestically, and 91,000 public piles and 245,000 private piles were built. On the domestic retail scale of pure electric passenger cars, if you compare public charging piles with private piles as 1:1 in the number of user services, the ratio of car piles in May 2025 is 1. 8:1. The charging piles are relatively adequate. Here, it is necessary to separate out the special characteristics of plug-and-plug charging, which is the Shanghai model, which requires only burning fuel and not charging.
However, if you look at the segmentation function, the charging utilization rate of public piles is 3 times that of private piles, that is, the 3:1 relationship between charging facilities and pure electric vehicles reached 1.03 in January-May 2025. Basically, there is a 1:1 relationship. Due to the sharp increase in pile installations, the overall increase in the ratio of piles has reached a relatively generous level of 1:1.
The national new energy development plan clearly states that slow charging of private piles is a development trend, accounting for more than 90%. Currently, private piles are developing slightly slowly, seriously affecting the popularity of electric vehicles.
According to the survey, the satisfaction of users with their own charging stations (in terms of sufficient charging stations, reasonable layout, charging price, settlement accuracy, etc.) was higher than those who chose other respondents. Private piles are privately owned by car owners to meet their charging needs at home. They are usually built along with the vehicle. The customer base is huge, and they are the absolute main force in basic charging facilities.