Shenzhen, the home of Chinese EV giant BYD, says it’s become the first in China to have more supercharging plugs than gas pumps.
As Electrek reported in April, BYD received direct government subsidies of “at least” $3.7 billion to grow its EV business and undercut the competition with aggressively low pricing. So all those cheap EVs need to be fast-charged, and what better place to expand than BYD’s home city?
In June 2023, Shenzhen unveiled its first fully liquid-cooled supercharging prototype station as part of its “City of Supercharging” plan, in which it set a goal to build as many supercharging stations as gas stations by 2025. And these “superchargers” aren’t just DC fast chargers – they can charge EVs to 80% in just 10 minutes.
Shenzhen had 362 supercharging stations as of April 30, according to the latest data released by the city, but it didn’t say how many gas pumps there are. They’ve been conveniently sited in commercial complexes, bus stops, and industrial parks.
According to data from the Southern Power Grid Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau, Shenzhen’s EV charging volume reached 670 million kilowatt-hours in Q1 2024, an 11% increase year-over-year. So, the city has to plan carefully so as not to overburden the grid as both EVs and superchargers rapidly come online.
The city of 12.5 million people has been an electrification leader for some time; in 2017, it completely electrified its bus fleet with more than 16,000 electric buses, and its taxis became electrified in 2019.
China leads the world in renewables and EV growth, but it’s also the No 1 emitter of harmful greenhouse gases.
Read more: In 2023, investment in clean energy manufacturing shot up 70% from 2022
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