BEIJING, Jan. 25 -- China's National Energy Administration (NEA) said Thursday that it will continue to improve the country's network of charging facilities for new energy vehicles (NEV) to meet the growing demand for electric cars.

The number of NEV charging facilities in China grew 65 percent year on year in 2023, reaching almost 8.6 million by the end of last year, Zhang Xing, the NEA's spokesperson, said at a press conference.

Charging facilities had been built in 6,328 expressway service areas, or 95 percent of the country's total, by the end of last year, he said.

The NEA has promoted the building of charging facilities in rural areas to tap the potential of NEV sales, Zhang added.

In 2023, the country's production and sales of NEVs exceeded 9.58 million and 9.49 million units, surging 35.8 percent and 37.9 percent year on year, respectively, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.