(Yicai Global) Nov. 4 -- The Chinese government this week released a development plan for the new energy vehicle industry over the next five years.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will use information management technologies to put all charging piles under a single platform and share them as much as possible, the Paper reported today, citing Vice Minister Xin Guobin.

That process has already begun, Xin also told a news conference yesterday, adding that China’s network of charging facilities was relatively more sophisticated than other countries’ but the country must work harder to install charging piles.

State Grid, China’s largest power grid company, has set up a subsidiary to install them, and private firms as well as companies in related fields are also involved. As capacity expands, the location of recharging points will become more scientific and standardized and the authorities will also carry out data analysis to enhance the network’s construction.

China has the world’s largest power network for electric vehicles. It had 42,000 charging stations, 525 battery renewal stations, and 1.42 million charging piles as of September, with the ratio of vehicles to piles at 3.1:1, according to official data.

Editor: Peter Thomas