Hainan records highest penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China

Hainan province leads China in new energy vehicle adoption, with an new energy vehicle penetration rate of 66.5 percent as of August, far above the national average, official data show.

There are 483,700 NEVs registered in Hainan, making up 21.86 percent of all vehicles on the island - nearly 11 percentage points higher than the national average.

The province has achieved a 100 percent clean energy transition for all new and replacement vehicles in its public transport road vehicles, including buses, taxis, and rental cars.

To promote the transition, the provincial government has implemented multi-pronged strategies, including subsidies for charging and operational costs, streamlined application processes, and trade-in programs. From January through August, subsidies were distributed to 115,000 private new energy vehicle owners for charging expenses and to 6,000 owners for operational services.

Infrastructure has expanded accordingly. By August, Hainan had built 4,895 charging stations, 95 battery-swap stations, and 232,900 charging points, achieving full coverage in highway service areas and all townships. A unified provincial platform allows drivers to access all public charging and swap stations through a single app.

Hainan is also a national pilot for intelligent and connected vehicle trials under a "vehicle-road-cloud integration" model, the only such program in China to integrate three cities and two major highways. The province has built more than 100 smart intersections and issued over 140 test licenses this year. Haikou, the provincial capital city, is piloting vehicle-to-grid technology to explore sustainable models for large-scale coordination between new energy vehicles and the power grid.

In a landmark policy move, Hainan has announced it will halt sales of traditional fuel vehicles by 2030, positioning itself as the first Chinese region to set a definitive phase-out date for fossil-fuel-powered cars.

The 2025 World New Energy Vehicle Congress will be held in Haikou from Saturday to Monday, highlighting the island's green mobility initiatives. The event will focus on industrial transformation and sustainable development. A public science outreach session for youth will be held on Sunday. The Hainan International Auto Show will run from Monday to Friday, featuring more than 300 vehicles.