City to continue expanding e-vehicle infrastructure

Shanghai will accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry this year and improve charging facilities to better serve the needs of electric car owners, Shanghai government officials said today.

The city will encourage the use of electric vehicles, add 10,000 public charging poles, 15 charging demonstration stations for taxis and 10 shared charging pole demonstration communities this year.

Proposals related to electric vehicle charging have become hot topics in this year's two sessions.

Ma Chi, member of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee and researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, proposed transforming existing slow-charging facilities into fast-charging facilities as soon as possible, as well as setting up more charging areas for vehicles such as electric buses.

Lin Liping, a member of the 15th Shanghai People's Congress, suggested government subsidies to expedite the construction of charging and parking areas.

Other proposals including creating unified standards for battery manufacturing and management, and endurance mileage of electric vehicles which means maximum distance an electric vehicle can travel on a single charge were also discussed during the two sessions.