China leads world in electric car charging piles

China had 1.32 million charging piles for new energy vehicles by the end of June, including 558,000 public charging piles, the highest in the world, People's Daily reported, citing data from the National Energy Administration.

Last month, the total charging volume of China's public charging infrastructure surpassed 600 million kilowatt-hours for the first time, up 48.8 percent year-on-year, an official from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, told the newspaper.

"The number of newly added charging piles is steadily increasing, thanks to effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic."

At present, China's public charging infrastructure operators face high concentration. By the end of June, eight charging operation enterprises including TELD, State Grid and Star Charge, had more than 10,000 charging piles in operation, accounting for 88.8 percent of the total.

The National Energy Administration is working together with other authorities to further implement the plan for enhancing capabilities to meet the demand for charging NEVs, actively support innovation in the charging business model, and promote the integrated development of charging service platforms.

It will also speed up addressing issues regarding charging in residential areas, difficulties in the construction of charging facilities in old residential areas, and safety hazards of charging facilities.

Sales of NEVs in China posted robust growth in June, as the world's largest auto market steadily expands its recovery. Some 104,000 NEVs were sold last month, up 26.8 percent from the previous month, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.