HAIKOU, July 13. /TASS/. The total number of vehicles running on alternative energy sources registered on Hainan reached 81,500 by the middle of 2021, the Hainan Daily reported.

According to the newspaper, the share of cars on alternative energy sources in the total number of cars on the island reached 5.09% by the middle of the year, which is 1.5 times higher than the national average.

According to the news outlet, in the first half of this year alone, 16,400 vehicles on alternative energy sources were registered on Hainan, which is 65.6% of the annual plan.

The total number of alternative energy vehicles, which in China includes not only electric vehicles, but also hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, began to skyrocket in the Hainan province after the adoption of a plan to promote green transportation in 2019. In 2019, there were about 12,800 such vehicles on the island, and in 2020 their number already exceeded 31,600.

This year, the Hainan authorities are planning to increase the number of vehicles on alternative energy sources on the roads of the province by another 25,000 units, as well as significantly expand the network of stations for recharging electric vehicles.

Hainan is the first province in China to announce plans to completely stop the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles on the island by 2030 in an effort to combat pollution and protect the local environment. TIn order to do so, the government will encourage the public to purchase electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as develop all the necessary infrastructure.