Shocking stat shows China is winning: New electric car charging data shows China has almost 17 million fast chargers, blowing Europe, Australia and the US out of the water

New data out of China shows it is decades ahead of Australia and has already won the electric car race.

China’s electric car charging network has almost 17 million fast chargers, according to various reports out of China.

Nowhere in the world has that much electric charging infrastructure.

Australia has about 2000 DC fast chargers as of the end of 2024, according to the Electric Vehicle Council. Throw in probably another 5000-10,000 slower AC charging points, too.

Director of the National Energy Administration Wang Hongzhi, said the ratio of chargers to EVs in China was exceptional, according to the South China Morning Post.

“China has built the largest EV-charging network in the world, with two charging stations for every five vehicles, making charging more hassle-free for the people,” said Hongzhi.

In Australia it is closer to 150 cars per charger, according to the EV Council's data.

The data also revealed that China has added more than four million new charging imports this year.

Director of the National Energy Administration’s electricity department Du Zhongming said energy consumption from charging stations grew 40 per cent in the past seven months.

In July it is claimed China used more than 7.7 billion kWh of electricity to charge EVs.

That’s a staggering amount of energy, and there is little evidence Australia’s energy grid and production could handle electric cars on the same scale as China.

It has been reported previously that plug-in hybrids and electric cars account for about 60 per cent of new-car sales in China, or about 5.6m vehicles in the first half of this year, and their market share is increasing.

It is also claimed there are close to 37 million plug-in hybrids and battery powered electric cars in China.

In Australia, those types of vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of new-car sales.

CarsGuide has experienced China’s immense electric vehicle charging infrastructure first hand.

Deputy News Editor Tom White stopped at the Shaoxing Service Area, a ‘Rest Stop’ on the freeway between two major Chinese east coast cities. It featured three rows of fast chargers where in Australia you’d be lucky to find one, a two-storey shopping centre to keep you entertained, and one of Nio’s even more futuristic battery swapping stations hidden away at the back.