2015年CRI Response to Government Push for New Energy Vehicles not Encouraging

The government hopes that incentives 1 can help alleviate 2 Beijing's worsening air pollution -- a significant part of which is blamed on motor vehicles.

But most potential car buyers think the new energy vehicles – predominantly battery driven ones -- may not bring about the convenience they want, at least not at present.

"It takes more than 100 thousand yuan with government subsidies 3 to purchase an electric vehicle, limited to just about a 100-kilometre range. This is definitely not cost-effective in a big city like Beijing."

Many say the short battery life and a lack of charging facilities are hindering consumer appetites for the use of electric vehicles.

Zuo Shiquan, an official from China Center for Information Industry Development, believes it may take a while for people to accept new energy vehicles. And it would be more effective if guiding policies were adopted in a gradual manner.

As for government subsidies, he suggests any manufacturer should be entitled to them as long as they can develop products that raise energy efficiency by a designated margin 4, and not necessarily only for electric vehicles.

"Because of government subsidies, many car makers 5 have rushed to manufacture electric vehicles. But only a very limited number of car makers can produce up-to-standard electric vehicles."

Experts also worry that the incentives could worsen Beijing's traffic jams, another factor that compromises quality of life in Beijing.

Vehicle-related policies over the past years have reportedly resulted in an explosive increase of cars on the road.

Ma Jun, Director of Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs says lessons should be learned from policy failures.

"The problem is that these electric cars are not to replace the cars already on the road. Without being subject to the lottery 6 system for car registration 7, electric cars will add to the number of vehicles on the road, and therefore make traffic jams in Beijing even worse."

And given the fact that the policy-favored new energy vehicles seem to be limited only to battery driven cars, Ma says solutions for battery pollution must be put in place.

"We should not postpone 8 the solution of these problems. Otherwise we may once again face an awkward situation. The batteries of electric cars are very likely to cause environmental issues. And it will be very costly 9 to solve these problems."

Experts warn that given the size of Beijing – which is home to more than 23 million people – and the intertwining nature of modern city life, any public policies would have magnifying effects in multi-sectors. Therefore they should be worked out as part of overall smart city planning strategies.