EV Charging Volume on China's Expressways Surges by 55.6% Year on Year

The May holidays in China have shown this year that the era of long‑distance electric vehicle travel has truly arrived. On the first day of the five‑day break, EV charging volume on the country's expressways rose by 55.6 percent compared to the same period last year. This highlights a fundamental shift in travel patterns, as electric vehicles have become a popular choice for long‑distance journeys. Here is the story — as reported by CCTV+.

Data released by the National Energy Administration showed that EV charging volume on expressways last Friday exceeded 23 million kilowatt‑hours, setting a new record for the same period. These figures are based on an analysis of 57,600 expressway charging stations included in the national charging station monitoring platform.

According to forecasts from the Ministry of Transport, an average of 15.4 million electric vehicles will travel on expressways daily during the holiday period. This will account for 24 percent of all vehicles — an increase of 33 percent compared to last year.

Facing rapidly growing charging demand, local authorities and grid operators have accelerated the deployment of high‑power charging stations. In the city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in eastern China, additional charging equipment has been installed on expressways — 118 chargers of varying capacities, increasing charging capacity by approximately 50 percent compared with last year.

In Guangdong Province in southern China, power supply authorities have improved response efficiency by adjusting the distribution of mobile charging devices in real time based on traffic flow at key service stations, ensuring targeted coverage during peak hours.

One driver shared his experience: after charging for about ten minutes, he can hit the road again — and this, he said, is truly convenient.

Currently, China has more than 21 million charging stations, covering all residential areas in 19 provinces.