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A study by a research unit within China's Transport Ministry found that around 40 percent of local roads have been approved for repair but remain unfunded because of tight budgets.
The gap has been estimated at up to 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) a year.
How to Fund Roads in the EV Age
New ways to fund roads are being considered. A mileage-based road user charge is one option.
The government has also started trimming EV tax concessions, halving the sales tax discount for new energy vehicles (NEVs) to 5 percent, with the maximum discount now capped at 15,000 yuan (around $2,250).
Annual vehicle and vessel tax exemptions will be axed for PHEVs and extended-range EVs.
There are other measures in play.
Hainan province is running a pilot program that uses sat-nav to track certain vehicles, which could form the basis of a dynamic mileage tax that varies by vehicle class.
The government also wants carmakers to rein in their obsession with size.
Mandatory energy-consumption figures penalize excessively heavy passenger cars, nudging automakers toward lighter materials and better aerodynamics rather than ever-larger battery packs to stretch range.
The ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, The People's Daily, has urged companies to “return to rationality,” noting that such large vehicles clash with existing urban infrastructure and drive up energy consumption.
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State broadcaster CCTV has also criticized the industry's growing focus on oversized EVs, calling it a response to short-term market demand rather than genuine innovation.
