2 million EV charging points and counting: How TomTom’s mapping an expanding market

Back in December 2024, TomTom mapped its 2 millionth EV charging point. So why announce this milestone now, almost a year later? Because, despite the big numbers involved, this isn’t a story about quantity. It’s about quality.

Think about your last long journey in an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. When you glanced at the fuel gauge, noticed the needle veering towards empty, did panic set in? Or did you simply drive on and, within a few miles, find that inevitable overhead sign, replete with those reassuring refuel and rest-stop symbols?

This is what TomTom wants for every EV driver: the confidence that comes with knowing, at any point during a journey, where to find the nearest spot to recharge. In other words, no more charging anxiety. When you drive an ICE car, your refuel reference points exist beyond the vehicle — from roadside signage to the prominent silhouettes of upcoming service stations — whereas with an EV, it’s the opposite: you’re relying on in-vehicle tech to guide you.

This is why the right map is vital. It needs to be thorough, accurate, up to date and personalized, accounting for variables such as compatibility, charging point operators (CPOs), prices and charging speeds. It also needs to be global — not only serving European and North American drivers, but also those in emerging EV markets.

EV adoption is on the ride across various countries. With that comes a growing need for chargers.

True global coverage

It’s no secret that China is leading the way in EV production, but it may surprise you to learn which markets they’re expanding into. According to the New York Times, Nepal is now a world leader in EV uptake, with 76% of all cars sold in 2024 running on batteries. Data provided by Bloomberg also lists Sri Lanka, Djibouti and Ethiopia among the top EV importers.

And as EV adoption soars across the world, so too does the need for EV-first navigation. TomTom is staying one step ahead of this expansion, supporting the global shift to zero-emission driving by mapping EV charging points in generally neglected nations, such as those across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. This is one of the big differentiators in the 2 million (plus) charging points that TomTom’s mapped: true global coverage.

“Our goal is to really cover every region as much as we possibly can. All EV customers deserve a good experience, and a complete dataset enables that across the navigation system,” says Drew Meehan, TomTom’s Senior EV Product Manager. This, however, is easier said than done. Drew explains that global data aggregators are staple sources for anyone mapping EV infrastructure. But their coverage falls short of certain countries.

“We have local intelligence teams that help us identify partners in places where we're not getting enough information from these aggregators. Our strategy is not just to take what we can get — it's to go out and find the best way of making this happen, even if it means overcoming a few hurdles.” 

There are three layers to EV infrastructure: a charging park, which includes multiple charging stations in proximity to one another, operated by the same CPO (think of this like a service station); a charging point, which is what handles the charging process (similar to a fuel pump); and the connector, which, like the diesel and petrol nozzles at a pump, provide you with options (plugs for different cars, for example).

Not all data is map-worthy

Coverage is one factor that distinguishes TomTom’s approach to mapping EV infrastructure. The other is quality.

As mentioned, TomTom hit the 2 million charger mark back in December. But acquiring this data was just the first step — it then needed to pass the mapmaker’s rigorous quality checks. “We want our data to reflect the ground truth. It’s an impossible goal, but to get as close to that as possible — that’s what we’re aiming for,” says Drew.

This means that one source isn’t enough. To mitigate duplicates or other forms of data inflation, newly mapped charging points need to be cross-referenced and even checked in person. “We have actual people in these locations, checking local apps, using open map data to try to validate these points of interest. I think this strenuous attention to detail is what sets us apart from other mapmakers.”

It’s a rigorous process — in fact, right now, TomTom has an additional 220,000 EV charging points mapped out. But they’re confined to a pre-production environment because they don’t yet meet the mapmaker’s data quality threshold. This keeps inaccurate or incomplete information off the map, preventing the sort of confusion that damages driver trust in EV navigation.

The number of EV charging points mapped compared to those that meet TomTom’s data quality threshold.

The blueprint for the best EV experience

It’s important to note that these 2 million charging points (2,106,880 at the time this article was published) is just the baseline. TomTom’s navigation software is powered by Orbis Maps, whose interoperability means that automakers can easily integrate their own EV datasets, along with those acquired from partnerships, as part of their TomTom-powered map stack.

This is particularly useful for capturing charging point availability. While TomTom gathers as much of this information as it feasibly can, a lot of this dynamic data is only available through CPO partnerships exclusive to automakers. “We use standards like Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) to make sure that it's very easy to add new data sources and incorporate new things — including exclusive contracts. And because our systems are designed with private layers, these data contracts are protected,” Drew explains.

This level of customization, built upon a solid baseline of extensively mapped EV infrastructure, empowers automakers to truly bring their EV experience to life. And this space is set to evolve quickly: recent advances in AI have resolved the risk of information overload that comes with massive databases, putting mapmakers and automakers in a position to create personalized, intuitive EV experiences that surpass those of ICE vehicles.