A driver charges his car at the parking lot of Hangzhou International Airport in east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 1, 2020.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

HANGZHOU, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- In 2023, the charging consumption of electric vehicles (EVs) in east China's Zhejiang Province totaled 5.61 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 73.2 percent year on year, said local authorities Thursday.

By the end of 2023, there were about 142,000 public charging piles in Zhejiang, and more than 1.1 million households had registered and installed individual charging piles across the province, said State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd.

The coverage rate of public charging piles in townships of Zhejiang increased from 64.84 percent at the end of 2022 to 85.26 percent at the end of 2023.

At present, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other cities in Zhejiang have achieved full coverage of public charging piles in their townships, and some even take the lead in realizing the full access to public charging piles in their villages, according to the company.

China saw a 51.7-percent growth in the number of charging piles for electric vehicles year on year in November 2023, according to data from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance. The country has been expanding the charging facilities for EVs in recent years, buoyed by the burgeoning EV market.