Recently, the hashtag #NationalDay Highway EV Charging Queue System# climbed to the top of Weibo’s trending list.
According to reports, since the start of the holiday, many highway service areas have seen long lines of electric vehicle (EV) owners waiting to charge. To maintain order and avoid chaos, many service areas have introduced a “number-calling system.” Some service areas also limit each charging session to about 30 minutes or 80% battery capacity to reduce waiting time.
One EV owner shared a video online, saying that on the night of September 30, while charging their new energy vehicle at a service area on a highway in Hunan, staff were calling numbers for charging. In the video, the driver shows a handwritten ticket with the number 49 and says they had already been waiting for over an hour, with 14 cars still ahead. According to service area staff interviewed by the media, there are dedicated personnel on duty during the National Day holiday to guide EV owners into orderly queues. “Typically, each car is only allowed to charge for about half an hour to reach 80%,” a staff member said.
In recent years, with the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, the coverage of EV charging stations across China’s highway service areas has steadily improved. However, during major holidays when large numbers of car owners travel at the same time, charging capacity is often still insufficient, leading to the common phenomenon of “hard to find a charger.” Data shows that in August alone, passenger vehicle sales reached 1.995 million units, including 1.1 million NEVs. Among them, pure electric vehicles accounted for 686,000 units, while plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs accounted for 414,000 units. By the end of June, China had 36.89 million NEVs, making up 10.27% of the total vehicle population. Of these, pure electric vehicles numbered 25.54 million, representing 69.23% of all NEVs.
On the infrastructure side, data from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance shows that as of June 2025, the total number of charging facilities nationwide reached 16.1 million units, a 55.6% year-on-year increase. Despite the rapid growth, holiday demand still far exceeds supply, causing long queues at highway service areas.
Industry experts point out that although NEV adoption is booming and the charging network is expanding, to truly meet drivers’ needs, China must accelerate the rollout of charging facilities. Automakers should also focus on high-power fast charging technology to cut wait times, unify charging interfaces to improve compatibility, and strategically plan charging station locations to make them as easy to find as gas stations—ideally within a 5-kilometer radius anywhere. At the same time, deeper cooperation between governments and enterprises is needed to build, share, and manage infrastructure more efficiently.
Many drivers expressed support for the “number-calling system” introduced this National Day holiday. Some commented that it helps prevent people from cutting in line and reduces the chaos of competing for chargers. Drivers can also take breaks or move freely around the service area while waiting, and simply return when their number is called.
