Poor facilities pulling the plug on electric cars

'Green' vehicles are proving popular in China, but their growth is being undermined by an immature infrastructure and a lack of charging stations, as Zheng Jinran reports.

Li Yongning is a regular visitor to the Huamao Center, a busy business cluster in the Chaoyang district of Beijing that houses famous designer outlets, high-end jewelry shops, and fine restaurants.

However, the 59-year-old Beijinger isn't interested in clothing, fine furniture, or haute cuisine. Instead, he visits the center every few days to charge his son's electric car, a Chinese-made BYD E6, which until recently was a headache rather than the help it was intended to be.