China's EV charging crisis exposes infrastructure gap

China’s EV charging shortage disrupted travel during the Oct. 1–7 National Day holiday, exposing a gap between fast-growing EV production and slower public charging investment, according to a report cited by The Epoch Times. Highway EV traffic surged to about 17.8 million trips on the first day—roughly 1.8 times normal—yet demand outpaced capacity even after around 89,000 charging facilities were installed at nationwide highway service areas. Drivers in some regions reportedly faced queues of five to seven hours, with some waiting overnight, and videos described lines as long as 169th in queue. Flash chargers sometimes slowed after energy storage depletion, while battery-swapping stations also saw waits over five hours.