Amid the booming global electric vehicle industry, the European market, with its mature automotive industrial system, strict environmental protection regulations and consumers' high acceptance of new technologies, has become a must-win territory for major automakers. In recent years, Chinese automakers have made a name for themselves in Europe by virtue of technological innovation and product advantages.

 

It is well known that the popularization of electric vehicles cannot be separated from the construction of a complete charging infrastructure. As the sales of Chinese new energy vehicles in Europe continue to rise, Chinese automakers have enhanced the competitiveness and user recognition of Chinese new energy vehicles in the European market by cooperating with local charging operators or building their own charging networks to provide more convenient charging services for local users. Meanwhile, related industrial chain enterprises, such as charging pile manufacturers and charging module suppliers, have also followed Chinese automakers to "go global", expanding their business in Europe and achieving coordinated industrial development. Chinese automakers and charging facility operators are joining hands to light up a "charging network" across the European continent, injecting vitality into the development of the European electric vehicle market.

 

Automakers are accelerating the layout of charging networks

 

According to foreign media reports, Li Ke, executive vice president of BYD, recently announced in Brussels, Belgium, that BYD plans to build a megawatt-level flash charging network in Europe, making charging electric vehicles as convenient as refueling fuel vehicles. It is learned that BYD plans to deploy its "megawatt flash charging" technology in Europe. In March of this year, BYD officially launched the "Megawatt Flash Charging" technology at the Super e Platform technology release conference. With a 1000V high-voltage architecture for passenger vehicles and a 10C high-rate battery as the core, it has achieved a breakthrough in charging power of 1MW (1000kW), and a 5-minute charge can provide a driving range of 400 kilometers. This charging technology is known as a "game-changer" and will greatly enhance consumers' confidence in electric vehicles.

 

Nowadays, BYD plans to introduce this technology to Europe, alleviating the long-standing charging anxiety of European electric vehicle users and enhancing the user experience. It is learned that BYD plans to complete the layout of its first batch of flash charging stations in Europe within the next 12 months, with priority given to covering its own dealerships. Meanwhile, BYD is also actively seeking cooperation with local enterprises to accelerate its layout.

 

Byd's move is also paving the way for its strategy of going global in Europe. In recent years, BYD has been making frequent moves in the European market. Many models such as the Seal, Dolphin, Atto 3 and Seagull have been launched and sold in Europe. At present, BYD is building its first European production base for new energy passenger vehicles in Hungary at a rapid pace. In May this year, BYD further announced that its European headquarters would be located in Budapest, Hungary. Its European headquarters will undertake three core functions: sales, research and development, and certification, forming a closed loop of "research and development - production - service" covering the entire Europe. Li Ke disclosed at that time that the R&D center of its European headquarters had launched a customized development plan for Europe, and the first batch of localized models would be delivered in the first quarter of 2026.

 

This move by BYD is not an isolated case. As Chinese auto brands gradually enter the European market, an increasing number of enterprises are beginning to deploy charging infrastructure networks to empower the local electric vehicle ecosystem.

 

Nio is a typical example. Nio's construction of its charging and battery swapping network in Europe began in 2021 when it launched the ES8 model in the Norwegian market and simultaneously initiated the construction of battery swapping stations. In July 2024, NIO announced that it had cumulatively set up 50 battery swap stations and 19 charging stations in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, and at the same time connected over 600,000 third-party charging piles. In April this year, NIO announced that its 60th battery swap station in Europe was put into operation in St. Augustine, Germany. The convenient and efficient charging experience provides NIO with differentiated competitiveness for its expansion into the European market. In June of this year, NIO announced that it would further expand its market in Europe and bring five deeply localized models to 12 European countries from 2025 to 2026.

 

Xpeng Motors, another new force, is also taking active actions. At the end of April this year, XPeng Motors announced a cooperation with Plugsurfing, the largest charging service provider in Europe. It successfully connected over 850,000 charging piles in 27 European countries, building a charging network spanning Europe and Asia and breaking the regional charging silos. In the European market, XPeng's charging network layout not only provides travel security for car owners but also enhances brand recognition and accelerates the expansion pace of XPeng Motors in the European market.

 

Enterprises in the industrial chain work together to go global

 

There are also objective factors contributing to the active deployment of charging networks by Chinese enterprises in Europe. In recent years, the sales of electric vehicles in Europe have achieved rapid growth, but the growth rate of charging facilities has been relatively slow. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) once released such a set of data: From 2017 to 2023, the sales of electric vehicles in the European Union soared by 18 times, but the number of public charging stations only increased by 6 times. ACEA believes that by 2030, the EU will need 8.8 million public charging stations to meet consumer demand.
In the European electric vehicle market, Chinese automakers are one of the major "players". The layout of charging networks helps boost users' confidence in purchasing vehicles, serves the automakers' own overseas expansion, and forms an ecological synergy effect. Take GAC Energy as an example. It actively promotes its internationalization strategy, builds a energy replenishment network in Southeast Asia, and gradually expands its business to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America and other regions. "We are now focusing on the entire overseas market, mainly closely following GAC Group's overseas strategy of vehicle and charging station coordination and energy going global." " Tan Mingyou, the general manager of investment and operation of GAC Energy Technology Co., LTD., said.

 

In addition to the efforts of car manufacturers themselves, Chinese producers and operators of charging facilities are also actively exploring overseas markets such as Europe. At a recent conference on the charging and battery swapping industry, a reporter from China Automotive News talked with senior executives of several charging facility manufacturers and learned that Europe has become one of the important overseas destinations for Chinese charging facility producers and operators. On the one hand, they follow Chinese vehicle manufacturers to go global On the other hand, it also actively cooperates with overseas large automakers, energy operators, bus groups and other customers.

 

Take Teldrive as an example. Zhou Xiaofei, vice president of Teldrive, told reporters, "As a leading charging operator in China, Teldrive entered the international market in 2020 and officially launched its global layout." At the same time, relying on the SCO Demonstration Zone and the Belt and Road Initiative platform, accelerate the global promotion of overall solutions for energy, charging and electric vehicles. Up to now, its charging network business has covered regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Russia and Europe, and has established three major business regions: the Russian-speaking region, the Asia-Pacific region and the European region.

 

Star Charging is also making efforts in overseas markets. Wang Lei, vice chairman of Star Charge, told reporters that Star Charge has in-depth cooperation with domestic and foreign automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, Li Auto, XPeng and GAC. At the same time, it has also joined hands with overseas energy companies like Schneider Electric. With its own technological accumulation and respect for quality, it has gained recognition from customers.

 

It is learned that the joint venture established by Star Charge and Schneider Electric was officially set up and put into operation on April 1, 2025. The joint venture combines the complementary strengths of both parties in energy management and charging infrastructure to provide the European market with charging infrastructure, photovoltaic inverters, AC and DC chargers, as well as energy storage systems.

 

Help improve the electric mobility ecosystem in Europe

 

So, in the field of charging facilities in Europe, what challenges do Chinese automakers and charging pile enterprises face? In fact, many senior executives of Chinese charging facility manufacturers and operators told reporters that in Europe, the certification cost of charging piles is high, the after-sales service cost is high, and there are also some other uncontrollable factors. However, the profit margin is higher than that in China, which is also one of the important reasons why enterprises are willing to focus on the European market.

 

From the perspective of certification, Chinese charging pile products adopt CQC certification, while those exported to the European market need to obtain CE certification, and in Germany, additional certifications are also required. The certification cycle is usually 3 to 4 months, and the cost is 500,000 to 600,000 yuan. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty and cost for Chinese enterprises to enter the European market. In addition, there are some detailed requirements. For instance, the EU's New Battery Law requires that the batteries built into charging piles be detachable and recyclable. Starting from 2025, Germany will enforce carbon footprint certification for public charging piles. Products that fail to meet the standards will be prohibited from bidding for government projects.

 

Wang Lei told the reporter that the market access standards in Europe are high and the regulations vary from country to country. The service requirements are strict. It is necessary to do the certification in advance and understand the regulations in order to better layout the service system. For going global, he suggested that efforts should be made to build an international talent team, make an international layout of technical standards, prioritize the service system, and promote the globalization of the supply chain and the internationalization of capital operation.

 

As Sun Quan, an information security expert from China Automotive Technology and Research Center (Shanghai) Co., LTD., put it, "As China's new energy vehicles accelerate their overseas expansion, our charging piles also need to go global. Going global means facing the requirements of data security and cyber security from various countries around the world."

 

Zhao Zihao, the technical manager of China Automotive Technology and Research Center (Shanghai) Co., LTD., pointed out: "The EU's Data Act, which will be officially implemented in 2025, poses some challenges for many automakers, including charging pile enterprises, when going global, especially in the field of cross-border data. Automakers face dual supervision in overseas operations and data." "

 

Although Chinese automakers and charging pile manufacturers have encountered some difficulties in laying out charging networks in Europe, Chinese enterprises have their own advantages. For instance, BYD's ultra-fast charging technology and NIO's battery swapping model have both formed unique competitive advantages in the European market. In addition, Chinese automakers and charging pile enterprises are helping to lay out charging networks in Europe, marking a crucial step forward for Chinese enterprises in their strategic layout of assisting Europe in building a complete industrial ecosystem and achieving ecological export.

 

In the future, as both sides continue to refine and deepen their cooperation in technology, market, policy and other aspects, the "charging network" woven by Chinese enterprises will bring a bright future to the development of electric vehicles in Europe. On the one hand, a well-developed charging network will enhance the convenience of using electric vehicles, reduce range anxiety, and promote the popularization of electric vehicles. On the other hand, the technological and financial investment by Chinese enterprises will accelerate the construction of charging infrastructure in Europe and promote industrial upgrading. This is of great significance for Chinese automakers to expand into the European market and promote the green transformation of the European automotive market.

 

Originally published on China Automotive News Network on June 27, 2025