Electric car charger targets: of 8, 3 came true, all three for fast chargers
- Korea: 15,000 fast341%
- California: 10,000 fast213%
- Japan: 5,000 fast158%
- California: 250,000 in all87%
- France: 100,000 by 202155%
- China: 4.8 million by 202054%
- France: 75,000 by 201514%
- France: 400,000 by 20209%
Chargers at the deadline, % of the target
Of 8, 3 came true, all three for fast chargers.
By 2025 Korea installed three times the fast chargers it promised: about 51,000 against 15,000. France promised 400,000 public charge points by 2020; there were about 34,000.
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Without chargers no one buys an electric car, and without electric cars chargers do not pay, so governments set charger goals separately. Here are eight such goals of five countries and how much of each was reached by the deadline.
A row is one promise: who, what and by when. The question is whether at least half came true. Answer Yes or No, or just open the answer: each row gets its outcome and what actually came of it, the card a stamp counting those that came true. Quotes and links to the facts are below.
- Korea: 15,000 fast — Government of the Republic of Korea, 2020 public fast and ultra-fast charging points
promised 15,000 by 2025; fact 51,170 (341%). About 51,000 public fast charging points in 2025, more than three times the target.
- California: 10,000 fast — Jerry Brown, 2018 public and shared private DC fast chargers
promised 10,000 by 2025; fact 21,283 (213%). About 21,300 DC fast chargers in December 2025, twice the target; 10,000 was passed in 2023.
California Energy Commission, Electric Vehicle Chargers in California
- Japan: 5,000 fast — Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, 2010 public fast charging points
promised 5,000 by 2020; fact 7,900 (158%). About 7,900 public fast charging points in 2020; 5,000 was passed in 2015.
- California: 250,000 in all — Jerry Brown, 2018 public and shared private chargers
promised 250,000 by 2025; fact 217,214 (87%). About 217,000 public and shared private chargers in December 2025, 87% of 250,000.
California Energy Commission, Electric Vehicle Chargers in California
- France: 100,000 by 2021 — Emmanuel Macron, 2020 public charging points
promised 100,000 by 2021; fact 54,850 (55%). About 55,000 public charging points in 2021; 100,000 was reached in 2023.
- China: 4.8 million by 2020 — NDRC and other agencies of China, 2015 charging points, public and private
promised 4,800,000 by 2020; fact 2,600,000 (54%). About 5.2 million charging points existed by end-2022, two years after the deadline.
- France: 75,000 by 2015 — French Ministry of Ecology (minister Jean-Louis Borloo), 2009 public charging points
promised 75,000 by 2015; fact 10,480 (14%). About 10,500 public charging points in 2015; 75,000 was reached by 2022.
- France: 400,000 by 2020 — French Ministry of Ecology (minister Jean-Louis Borloo), 2009 public charging points
promised 400,000 by 2020; fact 34,300 (9%). About 34,000 public charging points in 2020 and about 190,000 in 2025.
Goals: verbatim from government plans and California governor’s orders. Fact: national statistics and agency data on the charging network, linked on the back for each row. Outcome: «came true» — the promised number reached by the deadline («about» within 5%), an event happened before the end of the year promised; «exceeded» — with room to spare; «nearly» — short by no more than 10%; «late» — reached, but after the deadline; «did not come true» — not reached; «came true, then undone» — reached, then reversed. The deadline is the end of the year named.
Counts differ: Korea, Japan and France count public charge points; California, public and shared private ones; China, all posts, home ones included. China reached 4.8 million by the end of 2022, France 100,000 in 2023.
A question for this picture
Why do fast charger targets come true while overall charger targets more rarely do?