China has built the world's largest charging network, but it still lags behind consumer demand and needs to step up construction efforts and optimize the layout, Xin Guobin, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said November 3.
China recently announced the "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)", which proposes that it will vigorously promote the construction of charging and battery swap networks. Xin made the remarks in a media briefing explaining the plan.
Xin said, as of September this year, China has built a total of 42,000 charging stations, battery swap station reached 525. At present, the cumulative number of various types of charging stations has reached 1.42 million, and the ratio of vehicles to the number of charging stations is about 3.1:1.
Xin said that in the future, the MIIT will strengthen coordination with urban and rural construction planning, power grid planning, and property management, to speed up the formation of a moderately advanced, fast-charging-oriented and slow-charging-supported highway and urban and rural public charging network to enhance the user's charging experience.
The Nio-led battery swap model is also mentioned in the plan.
Xin said the approach is also being explored. The separation of the body and battery will significantly reduce the cost of purchasing a car, with the battery accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the value of a new energy vehicle, and the price of a car can be reduced by at least 30 to 40 percent if the battery is not needed.
In addition, after the separation of the body and the battery, the battery professional operating company will be responsible for the charging, discharging, and distribution of the battery, and each time the battery is charged and discharged, it can be considered to do a safety test, which is more conducive to safety.
