The 2023 China Electric Vehicle Charging and Battery Swap Ecology Summit is convened in Fuyang, Hangzhou on Dec 20. [Photo/WeChat account: EVCIPA]

The 2023 China Electric Vehicle Charging and Battery Swap Ecology Summit convened in Fuyang, Hangzhou on Dec 20.

During the summit, various intelligent fast charging products were unveiled, including the world's first mass-produced "Flash Charging Robot" developed by Lotus Cars. The robot can swiftly and accurately identify charging ports, vehicle models, license plates, and various obstacles, completing the entire charging process, including retrieving the charging gun, plugging it in, charging, unplugging, and returning the gun.

"About 15 minutes is enough time to replenish 80 percent of the battery," said Wang Xiaofei, vice-president of Lotus China. The robots will further collaborate with Lotus cars' autonomous driving capabilities, enabling vehicles to autonomously park and recharge.

The charging robots are currently being mass produced in Fuyang.

Leveraging a well-established automobile parts industry, Fuyang has attracted 17 automobile industrial projects, including Lotus Energy and Jica Intelligent, with the expected output value exceeding 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion).

Currently, Fuyang is relying on high-quality projects from auto giant Geely Group to build the G320 intelligent networked vehicle core technology industrial corridor, aiming to achieve an output value of 100 billion yuan by 2030.

"We also hope that through the summit, we can better understand new trends in the development of the charging and swapping industry and attract more enterprises to invest in Fuyang," said a local official.

Data shows that by 2022, the national stock of NEVs had reached 13.1 million. From January to November 2023, China exported 1.091 million such cars, a year-on-year increase of 83.5 percent.