| Electric cars available for rent at Beijing auto exhibition |
Beijing's first pure electric vehicle debuted at Auto China 2010 Saturday, the Beijing News reported Sunday.
The car can run for more than 200 kilometers on a fully charged battery at one-fifth the cost of a normal car. During its initial phase, 100 such cars can be rented - not bought - in Beijing, according to manufacturers the China Zotye Holding Group. The rental price was not reported in the media.
The capital will have 500 electric taxis in service by the end of this year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
The city will install at least 120 electric car battery-charging stations, the Beijing Electric Power Company has announced. Their location is under discussion, but densely-populated areas like Zhongguancun and the Central Business District are the focus, a company official told the Beijing Daily.
The government will subsidize individuals who buy electric cars, with the subsidy ranging from 3,000 yuan ($439) to 60,000 yuan (8,782) for pilot cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Changchun. The plan won't come out before July.
Beiqi Foton Motor has announced that new-energy cars would account for 30 percent of the company's total output in future, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
"PSA Peugeot Citroën is expecting to cooperate with Chinese automakers to promote electric cars at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo," said spokesman Alexis Vannier.
The dream of the electric car hinges on the issue of the battery, Vannier said.
"It's a global problem, not just in China," he said.
Electric car batteries remain expensive and heavy, he said.
The government had to first improve the power grid, according to Cui Ying, a teacher at the School of Transportation Science and Engineering at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Without infrastructure, electric cars will remain a toy for exhibitions rather than a practical alternative, he said.
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