Wan said automobile exhaust emissions accounted for 70 percent of air pollution in big cities of China. While extolling new electric cars, Wan said promotion of public transportation would also help to ease the problems caused by expanding car ownership in China.
Public transport should also be the top priority for use of new energy automobiles in China, he said. Twenty-five Chinese cities have jointed a pilot program co-sponsored in 2009 by Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission, and Ministry of Industry and Information, to promote electric vehicles.
The project aimed to replace public transport vehicles with electric vehicles to support the development of electric vehicle industry, Wan said.
A total of 8.5 billion yuan (US$1.28 billion) from the capital market has entered the electric car industry since the debut of the project in 2009, he said.
China became the world’s largest auto market, as Chinese automakers sold 13.6 million vehicles last year, and the market continued to grow rapidly in the first half of 2010 with sales up almost 48 percent year on year to 9.02 million units.
The government announced in June that it would subsidize the purchase of electric cars with lithium ion batteries in a bid to reduce vehicle emissions. Subsidies of up to 60,000 yuan will be given to buyers of completely electric vehicles in pilot cities like Shanghai, Changchun, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Hefei.
Hangzhou sets max electric car subsidies at 123,000 RMB
Hangzhou citizens are now able to enjoy a total maximum of 123,000 yuan in subsidies for buying electric cars in Hangzhou, the Hangzhou Municipal Economic Committee announced on Sept. 26.
The 123,000 yuan of total car subsidies enjoyed by Hangzhou citizens includes 60,000 yuan of subsidies provided by the Chinese government, a maximum of 60,000 yuan of subsidies provided by the Hangzhou municipal government and 3,000 yuan in additional subsidies for car owners who swap private gas-powered vehicles for new-energy cars.
In addition, citizens can also enjoy 0.09 yuan in charging subsidies each kilometer for 60,000 kilometers or three years after purchase, and the maximum charging subsidy stands at 5,400 yuan.
Hangzhou is expected to achieve a sales volume of 20,000 new-energy cars by the end of 2012. Therefore, the city plans to construct four centralized charging stations, 38 charging stations, 145 distribution centers and 3,500 sets of charging poles.
As a result, car owners will be able to find charging stations for their cars within a service radius of 1 to 2 kilometers, according to Nie Liang, general manager of Electric Vehicle Charging Services Company under Hangzhou Power Authority.
EVS-25 300 companies sign on for electric vehicle symposium
The organizing committee of the 25th World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition (EVS) held a press conference last week to announce that nearly 300 companies have now applied to participate the exhibition that will be held in Shenzhen in November.
Those that have signed up include leading global carmakers Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Nissan as well as major auto parts companies Siemens, Bosch, Delphi and BorgWarner.
Domestic auto companies that will join the event include FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC, Chang’an, Chery and Geely.
The organizing committee said it has received about 800 research papers from nearly 50 countries. An estimated 2,000 delegates will attend this year’s forum.
