In April this year, Toyota Motor Corp. and China's leading NEV manufacturer BYD forged a 50-50 joint venture to jointly develop car batteries and electric vehicles.
It was the first time for Volkswagen, in its nearly 40 years of operation in China, to join the strategic development of a Chinese automaker and become a shareholder of a private enterprise. It is living proof of China's strong determination of reform and opening-up, said Stephan Wollenstein, CEO of Volkswagen Group China. He added that by opening up the market, China has brought new business opportunities to Volkswagen.
After Volkswagen announced its ambitious involvement in China's NEV sector, BMW followed suit by inking a contract with the leading charging station provider State Grid EV Service Company, in a bid to promote e-mobility in China. In this year's government work report, China highlighted the importance of new infrastructure construction. The country has vowed to expand 5G applications and build more charging facilities to promote the wider use of NEVs.
By the end of April, the number of charging posts across the country registered a year-on-year growth of 35 percent to around 1.29 million, which is 20,000 higher from the end of March, according to Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance.