Electric vehicle charge points to hit 4.7 million by 2015

Roughly 4.7 million charging points for electric vehicles will be installed globally from 2010 to 2015, according to a report from Pike Research.

These charging points---ranging from residential gear to public and workplace stations---will service more than 3.1 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2015. These vehicles will range from plug-in hybrids to all electric cars, said Pike, a cleantech research firm.

Pike said that it cut its original estimate from 5 million charging stations through 2015 due to "slower projected rate of sales for EVs, in addition to the continued lack of a clear business model for public charging stations." In other words, government stations will be the norm.

According to its report, 1 million charging points will be available in the U.S. by 2015. U.S. EVs will mostly be charged at home. The rest of the world will have more public charging stations. Pike Research said that Asia Pacific will lead EV charging equipment sales due to government incentives. Charging equipment that will pump power into the grid will be limited to fleet applications through 2015.

It's also worth noting that Pike reckons that the EV infrastructure market is going to get crowded by the end of 2011. Startups such as AeroVironment, Better Place and Coulomb Technologies will give way to the likes of GE, Samsung and Siemens among others. Like most emerging sectors, it's a safe bet that the early movers in EV infrastructure will be acquired by the big fish.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com