Highway charging stations give boost to electric cars

A 1,200-kilometer highway that links two of China's biggest cities is being equipped with a charging system for electric vehicles, a big sign of improvement in the development of such facilities.

Despite a number of measures taken by the government in recent years to encourage the development of electric cars, they account for only a fraction of all cars sold, due to such obstacles as a lack of charging stations, said experts.

Five electric cars embarked on Saturday on a trip along the Beijing-Shanghai Highway, the first attempt by electric cars to drive on the 1,262-kilometer highway, China Central Television reported. In both directions on the highway, charging stations have been installed every 50 km, the report said. These can fully charge a car within 30 minutes, it added.