I guess China might just become the biggest EV market in the world if this comes to pass. China Said to Consider $16 Billion EV-Charging Fund - Bloomberg
That full amount would pay for some 100,000 SpC sites, at current US prices, and that is on the same order of magnitude as the number of US gas stations! There is, from the article, no indication that any or all of them would be SpC-type stations, but any way you cut it, it is one heckuvan indication of China's seriousness with respect to the EV market.
"The policy will be announced soon, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private." Nothing official yet, but it would absolutely be a tipping point in the EV revolution in China.
This just shows how inefficient and incompetent governments are. Sinking that much money into charging infrastructure, and I bet that the charging will be painfully slow, and many will still have trouble finding a place to charge.
They should divert a portion of that money to Tesla, for Superchargers in China! With the money, Tesla might be able to up their plans and put solar/wind canopies at each Supercharger site.
I don't think this is necessarily the case. From what I've seen, the fundamental problem with government programs is the people implementing the programs have no idea how electric vehicles are used. That's simply because they don't own one and drive one themselves. It's difficult for people to imagine how they are different and how they are the same as ICE cars, in terms of usage, until they actually own and use one. The solution would be for the decision makers to use the vehicles themselves. But then the government would have to buy them cars, which probably wouldn't be "good optics". Or they'd have to buy the cars themselves, which seems an unlikely level of commitment to their job.
And the tipping point for possibly the rest of world as well. Well it will certainly not do the rest any harm. I'm not sure the big oil companies will be too happy though. Stuff em
Agree 100%...let the decision makers drive an EV for a couple of months...that will give them a much better appreciation of how / where / what to install...
Should I sell my position in PetroChina? Hmmm... Separately, qwk, my read of the article suggests that is 180º off from the situation here. It appears that Beijing is considering making available funds for others to invest in charging apparatus. That's precisely the kind of government assistance - intervention - that I applaud. At that coming from a so-called socialist system! Astonishing, that.
You make a good point, BUT with that amount of money, you could brainlessly put superchargers every X miles, and get the entire country covered. The problem always seems to be corruption. You can bet some company is going to make a killing off of this plan. Even if one does not own/drive an EV, given that budget, any intelligent being would pick the fastest charging available.
Here is a snapshot of Hong Kong's Financial Secretary's new ride: I guess he is riding in the back, and would never plug it in himself, but at least it is progress.