Rows of new energy vehicles at the Changan Automobile Distribution Center in Chongqing in March.
Photographer: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images
China’s EV Revolution Is Leaving Poorer Rural Cities Behind
While wealthy cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have led electric car adoption, uptake in other areas shows how hard gasoline cars can be to ditch.
On a sweltering summer Saturday in early August, a handful of people milled around a display of electric and hybrid cars in the town square of Pengshui, about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) inland from Shanghai.
The three-day event, which started with a glitzy light show on the Friday evening, was part of a push by Chinese authorities and automakers to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in rural areas. While a government-spearheaded drive has turned China into the world’s biggest EV market and seen previously little-known automakers like BYD Co. leapfrog Western rivals to lead the revolution, little of that enthusiasm was on display in Pengshui.