Three Core Trends Driving Global EV Charging in 2025: Standardization, Openness, and Localization

This article overviews 2025 global EV charging trends across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. Europe leads via AFIR/EPBD policies; North America sees NACS standard unification and open networks; Southeast Asia thrives on localized innovation. Key trends: standardization, network openness, and localization. It offers insights for overseas clients on policy compliance, standard compatibility, and market entry.

By 2024, the global number of public EV charging ports has exceeded 5 million, doubling since 2022. However, regional development shows distinct disparities—Europe and North America lead the stock market driven by policies, while Southeast Asia has emerged as a rising force with an annual growth rate of over 40%. Behind this differentiation, policy mandates, automaker alliances, and localized innovation are constructing unique regional ecosystems. The practices of the following three core markets are particularly indicative of industry trends.​

 

 

I. Europe: Fast-Charging Network Revolution Driven by Rigorous Policies​
Despite a temporary decline in electric vehicle sales, Europe's charging infrastructure has achieved a year-on-year growth of 37%, with stock exceeding 1.02 million units in 2024. The core driver comes from the strong impetus of a two-tier policy system.​
 

1. Policy-Driven: Regulations Reshape Infrastructure Standards​
Implementation of AFIR: The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which took effect in April 2024, has already demonstrated its impact—fast-charging stations must be installed every 60 kilometers along core trans-European highways. By the end of 2025, the power of individual stations must reach 400kW (rising to 600kW by 2027), with mandatory support for direct credit card payments, completely ending the pain point of "unable to charge without a membership." Germany's highway service areas have completed the first round of renovations, with the proportion of 120kW fast-charging piles jumping from 12% to 28%.​
Mandatory Charging Installation for Buildings: The EPBD Directive stipulates that starting from 2025, public buildings with more than 20 parking spaces must be equipped with charging piles, and 20% of parking spaces in new buildings must be pre-installed with charging facilities. This policy has directly activated the Southern European market—70% of the new slow-charging piles in parking lots of Rome's old town come from compliance investments by real estate developers.​
 

2. Collaborative Innovation Between Automakers and Operators​
In December 2025, the BMW Group announced its integration into Tesla's Supercharger network, becoming the 15th automaker to join the alliance. Its car owners can immediately access 25,000 charging piles in North America, and 2026 model year vehicles will be natively equipped with NACS ports. Domestically in Europe, the 1,100 charging points operated by Spark Alliance have achieved 400kW ultra-fast charging, capable of replenishing 250km of range for the Tesla Model 3 in 15 minutes, covering 25 EU countries.​
 

3. Regional Adaptation: Differentiated Layout Between Northern and Southern Europe​
The Northern European market is characterized by "fast-charging dominance": 75% of public charging piles in Oslo, Norway support the CCS 2 standard, and some stations have been compatible with China's GB/T interface to adapt to the growing number of Chinese export vehicles. Southern Europe, on the other hand, focuses on solving charging problems in old towns—wall-mounted slow-charging piles deployed in Barcelona's historic districts adopt a lightweight design to bypass building protection restrictions, with an average daily usage frequency of 8 times per pile.​
 

II. North America: NACS Standard Unification Spawns Network Sharing Wave​
The North American market is experiencing a historic transition towards "standard unification." Tesla's NACS (North American Charging Standard) interface has become the de facto standard, driving the charging network from "brand fragmentation" to "open sharing."​
 

1. Automaker Alliances Restructure the Industry Landscape​
2025 can be called the "year of NACS alliance expansion":​
In November, Stellantis announced that it will launch models with native NACS interfaces in North American, Japanese, and South Korean markets starting from 2026. Owners of its Jeep and Dodge brands will gain access to 28,000 Tesla Supercharger stations.​
In December, BMW followed suit by joining the network. Its car owners can directly navigate to Tesla charging stations through the My BMW app and achieve "plug-and-charge" via Shell Recharge accounts without the need to download the Tesla app separately.​
Faraday Future (FF) simultaneously announced that its new 2026 models will support the NACS standard, allowing users to access over 45,000 fast-charging stations across the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.​
Currently, more than 20 automakers in North America have joined the NACS camp. Tesla's Supercharger network accounts for over 50% of the local DC fast-charging market, completely changing the logic of infrastructure layout.​
 

2. Dual Guarantees from Policy and Technology​
The U.S. NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program provides $50 billion in subsidies, requiring new charging piles to support both NACS and CCS dual standards with a maximum spacing of 50 miles. Tesla's "Oasis Project" in California has become a benchmark—168 charging piles operate entirely on solar energy + energy storage, achieving off-grid operation and serving over 300 electric vehicles daily. Technically, Tesla's V4 Supercharger has achieved 1000V high-voltage platform adaptation, providing charging power of over 250kW for high-end models such as Porsche and Lucid.​
 

III. Southeast Asia: Localized Innovation Breaks Infrastructure Bottlenecks​
The total number of public EV charging ports in six Southeast Asian countries has exceeded 24,000, with Indonesia and Thailand as growth engines. The market is characterized by "innovation driven by demand and popularization determined by cost."​
 

1. Resonance Between Policy Guidance and Market Demand​
Indonesia's state-owned electricity company (PLN) launched the "Fast-Charging Network Campaign" on Batam Island, cooperating with ABB to deploy two Terra AS DC charging piles with an output power of 120kW, filling the local gap in high-power fast charging. It also launched an EV membership ecosystem to simplify user operations. Thailand, through tax incentives, attracted Huawei to build its first urban ultra-fast charging station in Bangkok in September 2024, adapting to the locally popular BYD ATTO 3 model.​
 

2. Breakthroughs in Localized Technology​
Environmental Adaptation: Charging stations in coastal areas of Indonesia adopt 304 stainless steel casings to resist salt spray corrosion, while street charging piles in Vietnam are equipped with rain shields to cope with the rainy season climate.​
Cost Control: Targeting the purchasing power of Southeast Asian users, Chinese enterprises have launched 7kW slow-charging piles at a unit price of $140, 40% cheaper than local products, with a penetration rate of 35% in Jakarta's apartments.​
Scenario Focus: 50% of electric vehicles in Vietnam are two-wheelers. Local operators have launched "APP-free charging piles" with physical buttons, allowing users to charge via QR code scanning or coin insertion, increasing usage rate by 25%.​
 

3. Chinese Enterprises' "Vehicle-Charging Synergy" Overseas Model​
TELD cooperates with Malaysia's EVPower to build community charging stations, and GAC Aion has joined Thailand's charging alliance, realizing the synchronized implementation of "vehicle export + charging pile supporting facilities." This model not only addresses the pain point of insufficient local infrastructure but also supports the overseas sales growth of Chinese automakers.​
Conclusion: Three Trends Defining the Future of the Global Charging Market​
Standard Unification: Europe's AFIR mandates unified payment and interfaces, while North America's NACS has become the de facto standard, reducing users' "compatibility anxiety."​
Network Openness: Tesla's Supercharger network is open to the entire industry, and automaker alliances such as BMW and Stellantis are breaking brand barriers. In the future, "one station for all vehicles" will become the norm.​
Service Localization: From rainproof charging piles in Southeast Asia to slow-charging stations in old towns of Southern Europe, products adapted to regional climate, user habits, and purchasing power are more competitive.​
 

For overseas clients, policy compliance in Europe, standard compatibility in North America, and cost sensitivity in Southeast Asia will be the core considerations for layout in the charging pile market. With Chinese enterprises deeply participating through the "technology export + localized cooperation" model, the construction speed and intelligence level of the global charging network will continue to improve.​