China to build more NEV chargers before 2020

BEIJING - China will build more than 12,000 new charging stations before 2020 to fulfill the demands of over five million new energy vehicles (NEV), a new guideline showed Tuesday.

The country will also build 4.8 million new charging piles around the country before 2020. China will have more than 5 million NEVs by 2020 on government incentives, with more than 4.3 million being electric cars for personal and official uses.

At the end of last year, China only had 780 stations for charging vehicles and changing batteries, as well as 31,000 piles serving a total of 120,000 vehicles.

The government has promoted use of new energy cars with measures including subsidies, tax reductions and convenience in getting number plates.