Zhejiang to build 5,000 more charging poles for electric cars by 2020

HANGZHOU - East China's Zhejiang province plans to install more than 5,000 new charging poles for electric cars by 2020, according to the State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company.

According to the plan, the number of charging poles in the province will exceed 10,000 by 2020 to meet the demand of about 230,000 electric cars.

The power company aims to ensure that by 2020 electric cars will need to drive no more than a kilometer before getting charged in the city proper in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, said Wu Guocheng, vice manager of the company.

The company will also accelerate the construction of privately-owned charging facilities in new residential areas, aiming to provide exclusive charging poles for all electric vehicles.

The number of charging poles for electric cars has been surging in China amid the country's campaign to promote new-energy vehicles and fight pollution.

Under China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), the country will build a nationwide charging-station network to fulfill the demand of powering 5 million electric vehicles by 2020.