The latest statistics from the National Energy Administration show that the platform monitors 57600 highway charging terminals across the country. On May 1, 2026, the charging capacity of high-speed new energy vehicles reached 23.0339 million kilowatt hours, a year-on-year increase of 55.6%. The cumulative charging service exceeded 946300 times, breaking the record for the highest high-speed charging capacity on the first day of the May Day holiday in previous years. The continuously increasing charging data intuitively reflects the significant transformation of domestic people's travel modes.

New energy travel has become the norm

Nowadays, new energy vehicle travel has been widely popularized and integrated into the daily and holiday travel scenes of the public. According to the Ministry of Transport's forecast, during the May Day holiday, the daily average traffic volume of new energy vehicles on highways nationwide will be about 15.4 million, accounting for 24% of the total traffic, an increase of 33% year-on-year. Liu Yongdong, Deputy Secretary General of the China Electricity Council, stated that with the increasingly mature technology of new energy vehicles and the continuous improvement of domestic charging supporting networks, new energy vehicles have already broken through the limitations of short distance transportation and become the mainstream choice for people to travel across provinces and return home. The market penetration rate has steadily increased, driving a significant increase in charging demand.

Continuous improvement of charging infrastructure

The increasingly complete charging infrastructure system provides a solid guarantee for long-distance travel of new energy vehicles during holidays. At present, the total number of electric vehicle charging facilities in China has exceeded 21 million, and 19 provinces have achieved full coverage of charging facilities in towns and villages. The dense and perfect charging network has completely alleviated the range anxiety of new energy vehicle owners.

Many car owners have truly felt the convenience of travel. Sichuan car owner Li Dongsheng drove a new energy vehicle to Pingyao, Shanxi for sightseeing, passing through the Fuping service area in Shaanxi to complete energy replenishment. He stated that the charging operation in the service area is simple, the charging efficiency is high, and diversified services such as battery swapping stations and mobile charging are equipped, completely solving the charging problem of long-distance travel for new energy vehicles.

In response to the surge in charging demand during holidays, various regions are actively upgrading their charging support services. Suqian, Jiangsu Province has built 98 new fast charging stations in 8 high-speed service areas, achieving full coverage of fast charging in the high-speed service areas under its jurisdiction; Shandong Electric Power has deployed mobile emergency charging cabins at 9 popular high-speed charging stations; The Sichuan Siguniang Mountain Scenic Area has installed a 600 kW high-power fully liquid cooled supercharging equipment, greatly improving the efficiency of energy replenishment. Keywords: new energy vehicles, high-speed charging, charging infrastructure

Liu Mingyang, Deputy Director of the Power Department of the National Energy Administration, introduced that the bureau has coordinated and guided the upgrading of old charging facilities, the addition of temporary charging equipment, the deployment of dedicated personnel for duty guidance, and comprehensive maintenance of pre holiday equipment in various regions. With the support of a digital monitoring platform for real-time control, the bureau is fully committed to ensuring the safe, orderly, and efficient operation of charging services during the May Day holiday.Editor/Gong Ziwei