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Bloomberg

Forget about “range anxiety” in Hainan.
With more than 75,000 charging points, electric vehicle (EV) owners in urban areas of the tropical island in southern China are usually no more than a mile or two away from somewhere to power up their cars.
The extensive network is part of a plan by the provincial government to end the sale of fossil-fuel cars by 2030 and have EVs and hybrids account for 45 per cent of the island’s fleet – the first and only place in China to set such a goal.
Its success could help provide a blueprint for the rest of the country to go all-electric.

The island has certain advantages when it comes to supporting EVs.
It is only about 33,000 square kilometres (12,750 square miles) in size, meaning most of its 10 million inhabitants make only short trips. The temperate climate helps prolong battery life, unlike, say, Beijing, where the temperature can often drop below freezing in winter.
The regional government has also poured tens of millions of yuan into subsidising EV purchases.
Where and what to eat in Hainan, from coconut chicken to crab congee
All that propelled the province to have the second-highest clean-car adoption rate in the country last year, at 42 per cent of new car sales – behind only the affluent financial hub of Shanghai (48 per cent), which has also given hefty incentives to buyers.
All of Hainan’s taxis and buses are also electric.
“The goal will be achieved for sure,” said Zhang Haotian, a salesman for Zhejiang Geely’s premium EV brand, Zeekr. “The Hainan government’s strong support, as well as the island’s size and weather, are perfect in supporting it to grow into a market leader for EV adoption.”


In Hainan’s capital, Haikou, there is an EV charging point on almost every other block.
New battery tech is also being deployed, with carmaker Nio debuting its third-generation battery swap station in Haikou, which can replace a depleted battery with a fresh one in less than five minutes. Nio plans to build an additional 1,000 battery swap stations and 10,000 chargers.
Hainan resident Chen Yeren drove a gasoline-powered car for the first two years working at a car dealership after graduating in 2018, saying he was hesitant about whether an EV was a safe choice. He finally made the switch in 2020, buying a BYD Han – BYD is China’s top-selling carmaker – as battery technology had improved to allow longer driving range and more of his friends had started to look at electric cars.
Hong Kong tax breaks fuel big switch to electric cars, but where to charge them?
At work, he says customers need less convincing to consider an EV (BYD stopped making conventional combustion-engine cars in 2022) and more prospective buyers come to the dealership saying they feel peer pressure as their friends ditch their petrol cars.
“I don’t think the 2030 goal adds any pressure on residents,” Chen said. “Consumers here now just view EVs as a better option when they need a new car.”
Beijing views Hainan as a role model to develop the EV industry nationally, and officials from the island have been invited by other provinces to share their experiences in recent months.
Affordability of EVs has been an issue in Europe and the US, but in China it’s far less of a barrier
James Chao, chief strategy officer, IScann Group
The next challenge will be transitioning commercial vehicles to electric, where the cost savings aren’t as high as passenger cars, because it’s more expensive to charge trucks and other heavy vehicles.
China is still some way off from banning fossil-fuel cars. Hainan has a high acceptance of EVs, being a small island dependent on tourism, but these conditions aren’t uniform across the nation, according to Yale Zhang, managing director of consultancy Automotive Foresight.
Other regions and countries are also making brisk progress towards phasing out petrol cars.
Norway, a country of 5.5 million people, is on track to ban the sale of fossil-fuel cars by 2025, with EVs making up more than 83 per cent of the country’s new car sales in April.

Britain has said it will stop sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, while Canada and seven US states, including California and Maryland, have set a 2035 deadline.
The task for Hainan probably isn’t as much of a stretch as it is in other countries, said James Chao, chief strategy officer at consultancy IScann Group.
“A key driver of potential success of this programme is the fact that the average price of an EV is far lower in China than in the rest of the world,” said Chao, who also heads the consultancy’s automotive division.
“Affordability of EVs has been an issue in Europe and the US, but in China it’s far less of a barrier. This makes the chance of success of Hainan’s sales ban far greater even than that of other regions.”


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Asia travel

Why China’s electric vehicle future hinges on Hainan island, where sales of fossil-fuel cars will end by 2030

A woman clear a Zeekr EV in the showroom of a shop in Haikou, Hainan Province, China, on Tuesday, May 10, 2023. Hainan is the first and only place in China to set a goal to end the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030 and have EVs and hybrids account for 45% of the island’s fleet. Photographer: Bloomberg

An electric vehicle swaps battery at a Nio battery swapping station in Haikou, on China’s Hainan island, on May 9, 2023. Hainan plans to have EVs and hybrids account for 45 of the island’s fleet by 2030. Photo: Bloomberg

A charging station outside a Zeekr EV shop in Haikou, Hainan. Photo: Bloomberg

Hybrid buses on the roads of Sanya, Hainan island. Photo: Shutterstock

An EV battery being swapped at a Nio station in Haikou. Photo: Bloomberg

Zeekr EVs in the showroom of a shop in Haikou. Photo: Bloomberg

Why digital nomads are flocking to the Chinese city of Dali – nicknamed ‘Dalifornia’ – but is the good life as golden as promised?

Digital nomads and burned-out big city workers are flocking to the Chinese city of Dali – which some have nicked “Dalifornia”, comparing it to California. Photo: AFP

Graffiti painting of the word “Dalifornia” in Dali, China. Photo: John Wang

People pose for photos in Old Town, a township-level division in Dali. Photo: TNS

Chinese tourists walk through Old Town. Visitors over the Lunar New Year reached 4.24 million, up 219 per cent from the previous year. Photo: AFP

Dali’s Erhai Lake is the second largest highland lake in China. Photo: Getty Images

The Cangshan mountain range in Dali. Photo: Getty Images

Electric vehicles: why the West needs China’s battery prowess as it moves to build supply-chain capacity

illustration by Lau Ka-kuen

Fuzhou Lianhong Motor Parts’ Chen Zhiqiang at Shanghai Auto Show on April 18, 2023. Photo: Daniel Ren

Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, speaks during a news conference in Washington on January 4. Photo: Bloomberg.

CATL’s battery technology is displayed during the 20th Shanghai Auto Show on Thursday. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Xpeng’s P7i EV is displayed at the 20th Shanghai Auto Show on April 19, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tesla offers China-made electric vehicles for sale in Canada

A total of 4,027 of Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles await loading at the Nangang port in Shanghai for shipment to the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium on May 15, 2022. Photo: VCG via Getty Images.

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

With an extensive network of charging points and deployment of new battery tech, Hainan could help provide a blueprint for the rest of China to go all-electric
The next challenge will be transitioning commercial vehicles to electric, where the cost savings aren’t as high as passenger cars


With an extensive network of charging points and deployment of new battery tech, Hainan island could help provide a blueprint for the rest of China to go all-electric.
