Identification of Service Mismatches in Public Charging Infrastructure Under Cold-Climate Constraints and Recommendations for Compensatory Layout: A Case Study of Harbin, China

Public charging infrastructure plays a critical role in supporting the sustainable development of electric vehicles (EVs), yet its effectiveness is often constrained by environmental conditions and spatial mismatches between supply and demand. This study develops a demand-oriented analytical framework to evaluate public charging services and support compensatory layout planning under cold-climate conditions, using Harbin, China, as a case study. The framework integrates demand hotspot identification, climate-adjusted service coverage reconstruction, service mismatch diagnosis, and compensatory layout recommendations. The results show that public charging demand in Harbin exhibits a clear centre-oriented clustering pattern. As cold-climate constraints intensify, the effective service coverage of charging facilities continuously contracts, and service mismatch areas become concentrated in high-demand clusters, forming an overall pattern of prominent central areas and scattered peripheral zones. Under the general winter scenario, a total of 197 service mismatch grids were identified, accounting for 58.98% of all hotspot grids. After the proposed compensatory layout, the number of mismatch grids decreased to 115, representing a reduction of 82 grids or 41.62%. These findings demonstrate that climate-sensitive service evaluation is essential for accurately identifying critical service deficiencies in cold-climate cities. The proposed framework provides a transferable approach for climate-sensitive service evaluation and compensatory layout planning of public charging infrastructure in high-latitude urban areas.