Investigating the deployment of initial public charging infrastructure: Planning-based VS market-based approaches

•The planning-based and market-based approaches to charging piles deployment are compared.•Both direct and indirect network effects are proved to influence the EV diffusion.•Given no public charging piles, the market share of EVs at 2040 will reach 23.54%.•The planning-based approach of charging pile deployment helps cultivate a niche market.•The market-based approach of charging piles deployment is superior in cost saving.