At present, the first batch of a total of 50 pure electric buses are already running, while the pilot charging stations established for this purpose have also begun operation. In addition, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission has begun to study how to charge electric vehicles like taxis and passenger cars in fixed charging stations.

Beijing has proposed two modes planned for the charging stations.

In the first an electric vehicle enters the charging station and professional charging machines will charge automotive battery, in the same way as gas stations refuel their cars. However, the disadvantage of this mode is that the charging takes a long time, and car owners need to wait in the charge station.

Another mode is when the electric vehicles enter the charging station the staff will remove the car battery and directly replace it with a new fully charged battery. However, if we adopt this mode, charging stations would require large numbers of stored batteries.

Next, Beijing will consider forming an electric taxi team traveling within the Fifth Ring Road, and setting up charging stations especially for taxis. If the pilot station works well Beijing may promote electric passenger cars and set up a group of charging stations for pure electric cars and hybrid electric vehicles.

As land prices in Beijing are high, it is unlikely that a lot of new electric car charging stations could be built. Therefore, there may be a need for transformation of existing petrol filling stations. Some parts in the petrol filling stations may be turned into separate electric car charging stations.