Intelligent chargers ease Spring Festival rush for NEV owners

Upgraded intelligent charging facilities, especially mobile charging equipment, at highway service areas across China have ensured a smooth travel experience for new energy vehicle (NEV) owners during the Spring Festival travel rush which lasts from Feb 2 to March 13 this year.

The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, falls on Feb 17 this year. For decades, going home and spending time with family has been the festival's defining theme, fueling a 40-day travel rush that sees hundreds of millions of out-of-town workers hitting roads, railways and runways. Authorities expect a record 9.5 billion inter-regional trips this year.

During this year's Spring Festival travel rush, the daily average traffic volume of NEVs on the national expressway network is expected to reach 9.5 million units, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.

At Pinghu Service Area along the expressway linking Hangzhou and Shanghai, the use of a wheeled charging platform has significantly improved charging efficiency during the travel rush.

"In the past, my biggest worry was the long queues at charging stations during the Spring Festival travel rush, which sometimes took one to two hours. But today, as soon as I parked my car, I simply scanned the code, and a staff member remotely controlled a charging robot to come over. I just plugged in the cable and charged, as convenient as ordering takeout," said a passenger car driver.

The seamless service was supported by the smart charging management platform jointly developed by local transportation, emergency response, and power supply departments, which can monitor the operating status of charging piles, predict peak hours, and dynamically dispatch mobile charging equipment

Since the introduction of mobile charging facilities, the number of vehicle charging daily at Pinghu Service Area has increased from over 180 to over 220, and is expected to exceed 400 per day during the Spring Festival travel season.

Similar equipment was also applied in Xiamen's highway service areas and around popular tourist attractions, with each unit serving as a small mobile charging station equipped with a large-capacity battery and a fast-charging interface.

"Now we can see the status of charging stations on this application. For example, if there is heavy traffic or a sudden surge in electricity demand in a service area, we can dispatch the nearest mobile charging vehicle to provide support as soon as possible, and it can arrive at the designated location in as little as half an hour," said service area staff member Chen Jiapeng.

Intelligent chargers ease Spring Festival rush for NEV owners

The recent strikes on Kharg Island have not put pressure on Iran but will affect American and European-linked oil companies, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday, Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, who is also a military analyst, said that Iran had made preparations in advance to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, well before the U.S. strikes on Iranian islands, including the Kharg, which was targeted and hit by the U.S. forces.

"As you know, these measures date back many years; after the Iran-Iraq war, we took steps to reduce our dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and on exporting oil from the islands. To achieve this, we built oil pipelines in different regions so that we can export oil easily by land and sea without relying on the Strait of Hormuz. Even if they strike, as they have already done by attacking Abu Musa, they will gain nothing from it. On the contrary, it will intensify the oil crisis. Once the region enters into war, we have already declared that we would target all ports, as well as American banks and companies. In a way, this has given us a freer hand to take broader action, and that process has already begun," said Moghaddam.

"For this reason, they think that by striking Kharg or some of the islands, they can put pressure on us. On the contrary, all the pressure will fall on the U.S. and European-linked oil companies. That's why we face no problem in this regard. Even if they were to seize Kharg, we would respond as it is our territory, but in reality, it would not create any obstacle for our oil exports," he added.

Kharg Island lies about 25 km off Iran's northwestern Gulf coast. Roughly 6 km long and 3 km wide, it handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude exports.

The island contains storage tanks, pipelines, and deep-water jetties that allow supertankers to load crude. Many facilities are concentrated and exposed, making them vulnerable to attack.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. forces had carried out heavy strikes on Kharg Island while deliberately sparing its oil facilities.

Trump warned that any interference with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, by Iran or any other party, would prompt him to "immediately reconsider" that decision, leaving open the possibility of future strikes on the island's energy infrastructure.

Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander