A new study has found that the 35,000 gas filling stations have been overcome by more than 40,000 recharge points, although many are private-owned.

The fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in Japan is the third largest in the world after the United States and China, with Japan speeding dramatically past most other countries. Now, according to Nissan (the leading electric car producer in Japan), there are more charging stations than filling stations.

Sure, the comparison isn’t really straightforward, as many electric car stations are private while Compare that to the US, where there are 114,500 filling stations and only 9,000 public charging stations. Japan’s electric car infrastructure is definitely starting to pull ahead.

“An important element of the continued market growth is the development of the charging infrastructure,” Joseph G Peter, Nissan’s chief finance officer, told analysts, according to Bloomberg.

While electric cars are becoming more and more attractive and cheaper, charging remains a major problem. Having an electric car and running out of juice with no electric charger nearby is something no one wants, so riddling the cities with charging stations is vital for the growth of the electric fleet.

It should be pointed out that Nissan’s figures include a huge number of chargers installed in private garages used for a single client while petrol stations serve many clients a day – but the growth is undeniable. Sharing apps are also starting to emerge, allowing charger owners to share their station with other electric car owners.

Meanwhile, Tesla is working on its own charging station in Japan, as well as in the US, China and Europe. BMW and other companies have also announced plans to develop the charging infrastructure, boosting the electric car market. Recently, Tesla released all of their related patents for free, specifically for this purpose.