China is challenging the NACS and CCS-2 charging standards in the Americas

North America is already grappling with challenges related to the transition to the NACS charging standard. Now, there's a growing concern about the potential spread of a?fourth?charging standard across the continent: the Chinese GB/T AC and DC standard.

Reports indicate that charge point operators (CPOs) in countries such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil, and Uruguay are actively integrating GB/T charging stations into their networks.

The GB/T standard originated as a countermeasure by the China Electricity Council after unsuccessful negotiations with CharIN e.V. to adopt the Combined Charging Standard - 2 (CCS-2) in the People's Republic of China. This divergence has led to GB/T becoming a de facto standard within China and is now making its way into global markets, raising questions about interoperability and standardization efforts globally.

If the China Electricity Council had adhered to its initial plan with the CHAdeMO Association to replace all native CHAdeMO charging stations globally with the ChaoJi?standard, a new common Chinese-Japanese charging standard, it would have provided a much cleaner and more unified solution. However, their current strategy - attempting to push their proprietary charging standard into new markets by flooding them with low-cost EVs - is far from ideal and raises significant concerns about market fairness and interoperability.

The China Electricity Council must prioritize making their EVs cross-compatible with other EV charing standards, potentially through a standardized DC charging adapter. Alternatively, global measures - such as sanctions - should be considered to restrict the export of GB/T-equipped vehicles outside the People's republic of China.

The EV charging world is not only facing this issue in the Americas. But Also in Eastern Europe, South-East Asia and the Middle East! The greatest threat posed by the GB/T charging standards to the European Union currently stems from the EU candidate states, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, where 295 GB/T EV charging stations are already operational.

It can be assumed that at least more than 1000 GB/T (AC & DC) charging stations (excluding Russia, currently no numbers available) had already been installed outside the people's republic of China! The trend is increasing.

It's time for experts from CharIN e.V. , CHAdeMO Association , SAE International , Tesla and the China Electricity Council (CEC) to collaborate on unified, standardized solutions to ensure EV Charging cross-compatibility!

Charging Map - Image Source: PlugShare