Spain is a fast-growing but mid-maturity market; Latin America is the fastest-growing EV region on earth. Both share one problem — the charging map is denser in cities and thin everywhere else, and the connector question (CCS2 vs GB/T) is still unsettled where Chinese cars arrive. Here is the 2026 reality, country by country.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Emilio Gómez Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0
Spain: ~80,000 public points, CCS2 is the law
Spain had about 80,000 publicly accessible charge points in 2026: roughly 73,500 AC units (Type 2, 3–22 kW, mostly kerbside or at shopping-centre car parks), 4,500 DC fast chargers (50–150 kW) and 1,800 ultra-rapid HPC sites (150–350 kW). About 320,000 BEVs and 290,000 PHEVs are on the road, with BEVs around 14% of new-car sales (2025 figure). The government's Plan MOVES III targets 250,000 public points by 2028.
Source: Travel Information Europe — https://travelinformation.eu/spain/ev-charging/
The connector question: CCS2 is mandated, CHAdeMO is fading
Since 2023, virtually every new DC fast charger in Spain uses CCS2 (Combined Charging System 2) — now the EU-mandated DC connector. CHAdeMO survives only at older sites and is being phased out (most Japanese EVs sold in Europe now ship with CCS adapters). Type 2 AC (3.7–22 kW) is the norm for overnight and workplace charging. Tesla Superchargers in Spain have opened to non-Tesla cars via CCS2. Practical tip: always carry a Type 2 cable for AC stops.
Source: EVStrada — https://evstrada.com/blog/ev-charging-networks-spain-2026 ; Iberia Car Rental — https://iberiacarrental.es/en/guides/ev-charging
Who operates the network
No single operator covers Spain, but a handful dominate:
- Iberdrola (Mobility Plus / Public): 10,000+ AC + DC + HPC — widest urban AC coverage and aggressive DC rollout.
- Endesa X Way: 6,500+ points, strong on the A-7 Mediterranean corridor.
- Repsol Flexicharge / Waylet: 3,000+ DC+HPC at fuel stations; cheapest ultra-fast via the Waylet app (€0.30–0.50/kWh).
- Tesla Supercharger: 65+ CCS-open sites.
- Ionity: 28+ HPC hubs up to 350 kW on key motorway stops (Madrid–Barcelona).
- Wenea (~4,000), Powerdot (1,500+ retail), BP Pulse (500+).
Source: Travel Information Europe — https://travelinformation.eu/es/espana/puntos-de-carga-ev/
Three tiers of coverage — plan the gaps
For road-trip planning, Spain splits into three bands:
- Tier 1 (densest): Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, the Mediterranean AP-7 and AVE rail corridors — ~30–50 km between HPC sites.
- Tier 2 (good): Sevilla, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Málaga, the A-2/A-3/A-4 axes — ~60–90 km.
- Tier 3 (thin): rural Galicia, Extremadura, inner Castilla y León, Pyrenees backroads — up to 120–150 km between fast chargers. Use ABRP and pre-load Iberdrola + Tesla apps before leaving.
Source: Travel Information Europe — https://travelinformation.eu/spain/ev-charging/
What it costs
Public pricing sits around €0.20–0.30/kWh AC, €0.35–0.65/kWh DC, and €0.45–0.65/kWh HPC (Iberdrola public €0.35–0.55/kWh; Repsol/Wenea Waylet €0.30–0.50 ultra-fast). Since April 2024, EU AFIR rules require contactless card payment on every new charger above 50 kW — but real-world readers still glitch, so keep two operator apps funded. Roaming RFID cards (Chargemap Pass, EnBW mobility+, Octopus Electroverse) cover multiple networks.
Source: Iberia Car Rental — https://iberiacarrental.es/en/guides/ev-charging ; TyreMap — https://tyremap.com/ev-driving/ev-driving-spain
Latin America: fragmented, but exploding
As of May 2026 the five major LatAm markets held about 33,800 public/semi-public chargers — Brazil 25,429 (75% of the region), Mexico 4,378, Chile 3,100+. BEV sales grew 72% YoY in 2025 (IEA: +75% for the region), and DC fast charging deployment jumped 167% in the past year (another +32.8% Feb–May 2026 alone).
Source: HIMFR market update — https://www.himfr.com/showroom/ev-chargerpoint-uufbmr/news/latin-america-ev-market-charging-infrastructure-may-2026-update-brazil-mexico-chile-uuf26b.html
Country snapshots
- Chile — best density. ~8.04 chargers per 100 electrified vehicles (OLACDE monitor, Q1 2026) — the highest ratio in the region; 2,159 public stations and 4,707 electric buses. Decree 114/2025 introduced mandatory "green license plates" for BEV/PHEV. BEV penetration ~6.5%.
- Colombia — fastest growth. 19,542 EV registrations Jan–May 2026 (+217.6% YoY); Tesla Model Y became the country's best-selling car overall. But infrastructure lags at a 337:1 vehicle-to-charger ratio; government plans 19,386 public chargers by 2030.
- Brazil — no unified DC standard yet. INMETRO is still finalising national specs, so the market runs a mix of CCS2 (European + increasingly Chinese OEMs), CHAdeMO (legacy Japanese), GB/T (some Chinese commercials) and CCS1 (US-market cars). Vehicle-to-charger ratio ~18:1. Chinese charging equipment holds >70% import share.
- Mexico — CCS2, not NACS. Despite US proximity, Mexico uses CCS2; DC fast is >55% of new installs, driven by border-corridor demand.
Sources: Latam Mobility / OLACDE — https://latamobility.com/en/the-country-with-the-best-charging-density-in-latin-america-is-chile-according-to-the-olacde-monitor ; Joint Charging — https://jointcharging.com/?p=4857/ ; PILOTECH — https://www.pilotech.ai/kri/blogs/dc-fast-charging-in-latam-2026-why-brazil-chile-and-colombia-are-pivoting-to-high-power-infrastructure
The CCS2-vs-GB/T clash
The single most-asked technical question in South America is "CCS2 or GB/T?" — and the answer operators are settling on is both. Chinese EVs (BYD, GWM, Chery, Geely, JAC) often arrive with GB/T inlets, while European and US models use CCS2/CCS1. Commercial charging sites in Chile and Brazil increasingly deploy multi-standard DC chargers (CCS1 + CCS2 + GB/T) because no operator wants four standalone units at one location. For a traveller, that means checking your inlet before you arrive — and why OCPP-based, vendor-neutral backends matter for regional operators.
Source: PILOTECH — https://www.pilotech.ai/kri/blogs/dc-fast-charging-in-latam-2026-why-brazil-chile-and-colombia-are-pivoting-to-high-power-infrastructure
China Angle
China's home market already runs the world's densest ultra-fast network — 3M+ public chargers, with 800V/5C sites common — and its LFP + GB/T ecosystem is now exporting wholesale. Chinese charging hardware already holds >70% of Brazil's import market, and as BYD, GWM and Chery localise assembly, the GB/T vs CCS2 question will keep shaping LatAm's connector landscape. The lesson for Spain and LatAm alike: a unified DC standard (CCS2) is what finally ended Europe's CHAdeMO limbo — and the regions importing Chinese cars will eventually need the same clarity, or multi-standard chargers forever.
Image credits: This edition uses no embedded photography. All cover/thumbnail rendering falls back to the site brand placeholder (og-home). No AI-generated imagery is used.
Chinese Brief (中文简报)
2026年西班牙与拉美充电现状：西班牙约8万个公共充电点（AC 7.35万/DC快充4500/超充1800），MOVES III计划2028年达25万；CCS2为欧盟强制直流标准，CHAdeMO逐步淘汰，特斯拉超充已对非空车型开放。运营商：Iberdrola(1万+)、Endesa X Way(6500+)、Repsol(3000+加油站)、Ionity(28+ 350kW)、Wenea(4000+)。覆盖分三档，偏远地区HPC间距达120-150km。价格约€0.20-0.65/kWh，50kW以上强制非接触支付。拉美2026年5月约3.38万个公共桩（巴西2.54万占75%、墨西哥4378、智利3100+），BEV销量2025年同比+72%，直流快充一年+167%。智利密度最高（每百辆电动8.04个桩，OLACDE Q1 2026，绿色车牌114/2025法令）；哥伦比亚增长最快（+217.6%）但车桩比337:1；巴西尚无统一直流标准（CCS2/CHAdeMO/GB-T/CCS1并存），中国充电设备占进口>70%；墨西哥用CCS2而非NACS。核心矛盾：CCS2 vs 中国GB/T，运营商转向多标准直流桩。
