Despite lingering
consumer doubts about the technology and practicality of electric vehicles, the
Chinese government and automakers are pushing ahead with the development of
green cars.
Buyers of hybrid cars, which run on a combination of batteries and
conventional engines, are entitled to a direct central government subsidy of
5,000 yuan (US$790) per vehicle, while a rebate of up to 60,000 yuan on the
purchase price is offered to buyers of battery-driven cars.
Other than government incentives, auto manufacturers are luring buyers
of their alternative cars with free maintenance and a range of personalized
services.
Their combined effort to promote greener cars on Chinese roads is
beginning to pay off. A survey by the China Association of Automobile
Manufacturers showed that 8,159 hybrid and electric cars were sold nationwide
in 2011. All together, there are more than 10,000 green cars on China's roads.
The energy conversion rate of electric vehicles in general is 46 per
cent higher than in internal combustion engine cars, and they have the potential
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 68 per cent, said Raymond Tsang,
partner at Bain and Company.
The majority of early converts to green cars are college-educated young
professionals in major cities. For instance, Zhao Yu, a 30-year-old office
worker at Shanghai International Automobile City, in Jiading, a district of the
Shanghai municipality, bought a hybrid car domestically produced by BYD
"to show support for my district's reputation as the country's showroom
for energy-efficient cars".
Jiading, home to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group), one
of China's largest car manufacturers, considers itself a suitable testing
ground for popularizing the use of clean cars.
All the promotions were making Zhao feel embarrassed every time she
drove her gas-guzzling, pollution-belching, sinister-looking lump of a sedan to
work every day. To repent, she spent 160,000 yuan in April last year to buy
BYD's new hybrid model, the F3DM, to drive to work and show her eco-friendly
credentials.
To her surprise, buying the car has brought benefits that make her feel
like a pampered child. For a start, she received close to a 40 per cent, or
60,000 yuan, rebate from the central and local governments on the purchase
price of her hybrid car. What's more, she was told she could enjoy free battery
recharge at stations sprouting in the city, compliments of the Jiading district
government.
"I am still getting the hang of owning and driving a hybrid
car," she said. But the many incentives have removed any earlier doubts
she had about the economic sense of buying one. "I feel like I am one of
the chosen few," she said. That feeling, she added, "makes me feel
immensely proud of my decision".
Zhao's F3DM can go as far as 150 kilometres in hybrid mode, a range
long enough to make the daily round trip from her home to the office and back.
"I never need to worry about running out of juice in the middle of
nowhere," she said.
In electric power mode, the batteries can sustain up to 90 minutes'
driving, or 80 kilometres, before the gas engine takes over. "I only need
to recharge the batteries once every day, after I get to work," Zhao said.
The good thing, Zhou added, is that her car is smooth and quiet. What's
more, it saves her quite a bit on fuel costs, compared to her other car, which
she drives only on weekends.
"But the shortage of recharging stations outside Jiading has made
it impractical to take my hybrid anywhere other than the office," she
said, sighing. Otherwise, she said, "I would have sold my old car in a
jiffy."
China's strategy to develop new energy cars has gained sufficient
ground on many fronts. When coal imports began to exceed exports in 2009, the
government saw the urgent need to reduce the country's dependence on fossil
fuels and launched a campaign to widen the use of alternative energy sources.
The country also faces the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in every sector of the economy. An area that has raised great concern
is emissions caused by the explosive growth of the car population in the many
sprawling urban districts. As a result, great emphasis has been placed on the
development of green cars that can be widely accepted by consumers.
On the policy front, the development of the electric vehicle industry
has been set as a priority of the Ministry of Science and Technology since
2001. The resulting "863 Electric-Drive Fuel Cell Vehicle Project", a
State-level, high-tech development plan, received an initial investment of 800
million yuan, said Wang Tianwei, policy director of the policy coordination
department of Jiading Auto City.
On the regulatory front, the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission passed at least
20 new regulations in the past decade to regulate and promote wider use of
hybrid and electric cars.
These combined efforts centred on a multiple of tax incentives to
manufacturers as well as price subsidies to customers. The original target was
to make the country a world leader in electric vehicles by putting 500,000
units on the road by 2011. But held back by technology constraints and policy
coordination, the deadline has been extended to 2015.
Electric car pioneers, including SAIC, Chery and BYD Motors have
indicated their commitment to the development of electric vehicle technologies.
SAIC, for instance, is planning to introduce Roewe E50, an all-battery-powered
vehicle with the latest technology, by late 2012.
The car, which produces zero emissions, has a range of 120 kilometres
on a full charge, compared to about 80 km for the existing models.
According to Hu Maoyuan, SAIC chairman, the E50 is "a result of
the company's efforts", which he described as an example of
"indigenous innovation". The company holds the patent and rights to
all the key technologies it developed for this project.
To be sure, there are snags to overcome before hybrids and battery cars
become a common sight on Chinese roads.
Battery performance remains the challenge to the practicality of
electric vehicles. Wang said Chinese companies still lag far behind their
competitors in the West and Japan in battery technology.
A study conducted by the United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs said China holds just 1 per cent of the total patent
registrations for lithium ion batteries, while Japan owns 52 per cent and the
US owns 22 per cent.
Tsang said he believed China has many advantages for developing
electric vehicles, including availability and integration of resources, and
strong government support.
Qu Yingpu and He Wei
China Daily
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