Three Ministries Launch Pilot Program to Strengthen County-Level EV Charging and Battery-Swap Infrastructure, Targeting 59 Counties by 2026

To accelerate efforts to address the shortfall in public charging and battery-swapping infrastructure in rural areas and unlock the consumption potential of new energy vehicles (NEVs), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Transport recently jointly issued a notice launching the application process for the 2026 pilot program aimed at strengthening county-level charging and swapping infrastructure. In 2026, the program will support 59 joint pilot counties, each comprising two or more counties. Each consortium must designate one lead county, and eligible municipal districts may also participate. Applicants must ensure that the city where the lead county is located has a vehicle fleet of no fewer than 250,000 units as of 2025. Pilot slots will be allocated based on a comprehensive assessment of factors including local NEV development status, fiscal capacity, integration with the national settlement platform for charging infrastructure, and performance evaluation results. Priority will be given to prefecture-level cities not yet covered by such initiatives to optimize regional distribution.