CHENGDU, Dec. 13 (NBD) -- According to data revealed by National Energy Administration, as of end October, charging piles for electric vehicles (EVs) amounted to 107,000 with a year-on-year growth of 118%. The private piles reached 170,000.

Statistics by China Automotive Industry Association shows, new energy vehicle (NEV) output and sales in 2017 surpassed 340,000 and 330,000 with a year-on-year growth of 330% and 340%, respectively. In the first three quarters this year, the NEV output and sales reached 302,000 and 289,000, increasing by 93.0% and 100.6%, respectively compared with the same period of last year.

With the rapid expansion of NEVs in China, the corresponding charging pile industry is expected to step into the golden time of development. The charging pile doesn’t only power NEVs, but also plays an important role in transport network planning because of its natural traction to NEVs. It can control the traffic load, flow and mileage.

The industry is expected to see the construction of 20,000 to 23,000 charging stations with 5 to 5.5 million piles between 2016 and 2020. The investment demand is 160 to 180 billion yuan (23 to 26 billion US dollars), with 32 to 36 billion yuan (4.6 to 5.2 billion US dollars) per year.