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Holiday Tidal Demand Tests the Network
This National Day holiday, some highway service areas again saw charging queues, yet support was stronger: Oct 1-5 recorded 902,300 sessions on the XPeng platform, and NIO swaps topped 183,600 on Oct 5, a record. In Binzhou, operators and drivers alike feel this shift from being able to charge to charging well - whoever thickens the service first seizes the next leg.
Policy Backing
In July 2025, the NDRC and the NEA issued a notice on scientifically planning high-power charging facilities, building a rational, upgraded, advanced network and exceeding 100,000 high-power chargers by end-2027. It leans on high-power charging to ease range anxiety, with municipalities, plan-listed and provincial capitals leading, and encourages highway service areas to build high-power sites.
From Coverage to Quality
For counties and townships, charging is not a downgraded copy of cities; it must follow local travel habits - markets, clinics and township halls are better natural stops than isolated sites, and green-power self-use keeps costs down while approaching dual-carbon goals. Tailoring to place avoids poles that simply sit idle in the sun. In Binzhou, operators are placing chargers where people naturally gather - markets, clinics, township halls and shopping areas - lifting both usage and convenience so topping up on the way becomes daily routine rather than a special trip.