The Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corp. is considering building a nationwide network of stations for the replacement of empty batteries for full ones. The investment plans may result in a huge boost for manufacturers and suppliers of electric cars due to the soaring Chinese car market - new car sales rose 80% in September compared to the same period last year. The oil company believes that Chinese consumers will be interested in electric cars at a market price for gasoline 20% higher than the levels seen today, assuming that the suppliers can deliver cheap and durable batteries.

The concept is similar to that initiated by the U.S. company Better Place PLC in the markets in Denmark, Israel and California which aims at building similar stations for changes of batteries.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. has already made an investment in the Chinese lithium battery producer Tianjin Lisha Battery Joint-Stock Co. which is a joint venture between Lisha and Coda Automative and aims to provide Coda Automative with batteries for their electric cars which are supposed to be on the California market by the end of 2010.