China Expands EV Highway Network as Service Area Charger Count Reaches 85,400

China has built 85,400 electric vehicle charging units across its national expressway service areas, achieving more than 98 percent coverage nationwide, according to industry figures released at an energy-transport conference in Wuhan. Public charging volume surged 60.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to 58.76 billion kilowatt-hours. The expansion reflects accelerating convergence between the transportation network and the electrical grid, supported by the deployment of bidirectional chargers and renewable generation across transport facilities.

Exceeding 98 percent charging coverage along expressways and posting a 60 percent surge in public electricity consumption demonstrates that China's EV charging network has moved beyond pilot projects into comprehensive national coverage. Furthermore, rapid deployment of renewable generation on transport infrastructure and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration signals an evolution in which transport assets increasingly function as flexible distributed energy resources rather than purely passive consumers.

China has established 85,400 electric vehicle charging points across expressway service areas nationwide, bringing charging coverage to more than 98 percent of such facilities, according to data released at the 2026 Transportation and Energy Integration Innovation Development Conference in Wuhan. Figures published by Xinhua News Agency indicate that basic coverage has been achieved across the national expressway network as of late June 2026, with remaining gaps limited primarily to remote, high-altitude, and extreme cold regions. The growing infrastructure footprint coincides with rapid usage expansion: public charging volume reached 58.76 billion kilowatt-hours in the first half of 2026, marking a 60.2 percent increase compared with the same period last year. The development highlights a broader push to coordinate transit systems with renewable power generation. In 2025, new energy development and utilization projects across transportation infrastructure reached 5,202 sites with a total installed capacity of 4,409 megawatts, representing year-on-year growth of 56 percent and 86 percent, respectively. Vehicle-to-grid interaction is also advancing from trials into operational deployment. Aggregated V2G capacity has exceeded 20 million kilowatts, supported by more than 8,000 bidirectional charging and battery-swapping stations. Cumulative electricity discharged back into the power network has surpassed 8 million kilowatt-hours. Municipal transit fleets have mirrored this transition toward electrification. By the end of 2025, China's inventory of new energy public buses reached 551,400 units, accounting for 87.5 percent of the national bus fleet. New energy taxis reached 650,900 vehicles, representing 49.2 percent of the taxi segment. Speaking at the event, Yang Shengshi, president of the China Communications and Transportation Association, noted that both the transportation and modern power systems are navigating pivotal phases of technological transformation. Maturing supply chains and large-scale deployment are generating substantial commercial opportunities for equipment manufacturers, technology providers, and energy firms. The conference also saw the release of the 2026 Transportation and Energy Integration Development Report, jointly compiled by the China Communications and Transportation Association, the China Academy of Transportation Sciences, and the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance.