China advances electric vehicle infrastructure

BEIJING: China has built 853,000 charging stations for new energy vehicles (NEVs) by the end of January, surging 80.1% from a year earlier, the Securities Times reported, quoting an industry report.

A total of 44,000 charging stations for NEVs were built nationwide in January alone, up 231.6% year on year, said the paper.

Charging stations in metropolitans like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province accounted for 76.4% of the national total.

China aims to substantially improve the technology and quality of charging facilities, speed up efforts to establish a better standardisation system and optimise the distribution of these facilities with-

in three years, according to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission in December.

China vows to also make the charging networks better interconnected, upgrade charging services and create a better environment for the development of charging infrastructure, according to the development plan.

NEVs are gaining popularity in China, the world’s largest auto market, thanks to a string of supportive policies, as they help reduce fossil fuel consumption and address air pollution.

The annual sales of NEVs rose 61.74% year on year to 1.26 million in 2018.