Photo: BMW
There's a huge potential in EVs and anyone who hasn't figured out that by now should take the example of China, as the Asian country is looking to increase its green fleet with electric vehicles, hybrids and even alternative-fuel powered means of transportation.
As you might have heard, Tesla Motors hasn't been doing very well in China despite the fact that sales for EVs and hybrids for private use went up in the last couple of months according to AP. Encouraged by the recent rise, the Chinese Transport Ministry set some ambitious goals for the future.
We're saying ambitious because officials want to introduce 200,000 buses and 100,000 taxis powered by alternative solutions by 2020, after last year 15,000 such buses were added to the country's fleet.
Now, you do remember those pictures showing Beijing covered in a thick layer of smog due to heavy pollution, don't you? Well, according to government data, vehicle exhaust is responsible for around 30% of pollution in the Chinese capital so the issue might be bigger than initially though. However, the decision to go electric or hybrid might help in reducing that percentage, but China will have to move quick and most important, keep its promises regarding its green fleet expansion.
Regarding the number of electric vehicles sold in the first two months of 2015, The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers posted that 5,996 eletric vehicles and 6,444 hybrids found new owners in January and February.
There as still some issues to tackle before China would successfully complete its plans. One of them relates to the subsidy offered by the state for those who want to buy an electric car. That's because a low-end EV is still twice as expensive in comparison to a standard car powered by an internal combustion engine. In addition, China is still lacking a proper network of charging stations which means clients don't want to risk and found themselves in the situation of not being able to drive outside urban borders.
We're saying ambitious because officials want to introduce 200,000 buses and 100,000 taxis powered by alternative solutions by 2020, after last year 15,000 such buses were added to the country's fleet.
Now, you do remember those pictures showing Beijing covered in a thick layer of smog due to heavy pollution, don't you? Well, according to government data, vehicle exhaust is responsible for around 30% of pollution in the Chinese capital so the issue might be bigger than initially though. However, the decision to go electric or hybrid might help in reducing that percentage, but China will have to move quick and most important, keep its promises regarding its green fleet expansion.
Regarding the number of electric vehicles sold in the first two months of 2015, The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers posted that 5,996 eletric vehicles and 6,444 hybrids found new owners in January and February.
There as still some issues to tackle before China would successfully complete its plans. One of them relates to the subsidy offered by the state for those who want to buy an electric car. That's because a low-end EV is still twice as expensive in comparison to a standard car powered by an internal combustion engine. In addition, China is still lacking a proper network of charging stations which means clients don't want to risk and found themselves in the situation of not being able to drive outside urban borders.
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