SHI YU/CHINA DAILY

Measures call for promoting green vehicles, charging infrastructure

The latest policy measures to bolster the development of new energy vehicles and charging facilities in rural areas have boosted automakers' confidence, with officials and business leaders highlighting the immense potential of the rural market to shore up the growth of the sector.

The measures were adopted at an executive meeting of the State Council, China's Cabinet, and outlined in a policy document issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.

Key steps include strengthening the development of public charging facilities and providing greater support to operators of the stations.

There were about 13 million NEV owners in China by the end of last year, more than half the global total. China has also developed the world's largest and most wide-ranging NEV charging network, with 5.2 million facilities already built, according to the NDRC.

Meng Wei, a spokesperson for the commission, told a news conference on May 17 that a lack of charging facilities remained the largest obstacle to the growth of the domestic NEV industry, especially in rural areas.

"So we sought to solve the problem through innovative measures to promote the building, operation and maintenance of charging infrastructure in rural areas," she said.

Official figures showed that in 2021, rural sales of NEVs were up 169 percent from 2020, and in 2022, sales increased 87 percent year-on-year.

However, Meng pointed out that the NEV market in rural areas is still nascent, with relatively few owners, a lack of charging networks and underdeveloped aftersales services constraining the growth of the sector.