Green Drive

　　In the face of environmental degradation， a replacement needs to be fostered for gasoline automobiles

　　As the atmosphere is increasingly affected by the burning of fossil fuels， the use of new-energy cars， theoretically including electric vehicles， plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles， represents an inexorable trend for the automobile industry.

　　Demonstrating a greater resolve to boost the fledgling new-energy car sector， Chinese authorities have released a fresh set of policies to stimulate the popularization and application of new-energy cars， aiming to push forward the construction of fast-charging facilities， promote their use in the public service sector and break up local protectionism.

　　On July 30， the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)， unveiled a plan to offer preferential electricity charges for the electric-car sector. The announcement came 10 days after the State Council， China’s cabinet， issued guidelines for promoting new-energy vehicles.

　　Discounted power prices will be offered to operators of public charging facilities before 2020， in addition to operational subsidies and free business sites， said an NDRC statement.

　　Earlier on July 9， the State Council decided to exempt new-energy vehicle buyers from the 10-percent purchase tax starting from September 1 to the end of 2017.

　　Miao Wei， Minister of Industry and Information Technology， described the recently released supportive policies as highly target-specific and practical， believing they will revitalize the new-energy vehicle market and accelerate its development.

　　Aside from that， the Central Government allegedly will publish its fiscal support for the promotion of new-energy cars from 2016 to 2020 at the end of this year， which implies that financial subsidies will be continuously available after the current subsidies expire in 2015.

　　The State Council released the Plan for the Development of the Energy-Saving and New-Energy Automobile Industry (2012-20) in July 2012. It sets a target of producing and selling 500，000 pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2015， and 5 million such vehicles by 2020.

　　According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM)， the output and sales of new-energy cars in China respectively reached 20，692 and 20，477 units in the first six months of 2014， up 230 percent and 220 percent year on year. The output and sales of electric vehicles stood at 12，185 and 11，777 units， and that of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles registered 8，507 and 8，700 units.

　　Yet， compared with the 11.68 million vehicles sold during the same period， the sales of new-energy cars represented a drop in the ocean， accounting for a mere 0.2 percent of the Chinese market.

　　“Upholding the popularization of new-energy cars seems an inevitable next step in our national strategy，” said Chen Qingtai， a research fellow with the Development Research Center of the State Council， pointing out that it will contribute to cutting China’s carbon emissions.

　　Possible benefits

　　These days， buses and taxis have become a major source of air pollution in China’s urban areas， which—though constituting 1.7 percent of the total registered motor vehicles in the country—contribute 27 percent to total oil consumption and exhaust gas emissions.

　　Du Guozhong， a PR manager for BYD Auto， a leading electric car maker in China， held that a wider application of new-energy vehicles in the public transportation system will dramatically reduce fossil energy consumption and alleviate symptoms of environmental pollution such as haze.

　　According to rough calculations， if the 1.2 million taxis and 500，000 buses in China were replaced by electric vehicles， 34.5 billion liters of fuel oil would be saved and 87.37 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be slashed.

　　Industry insiders believe the government’s drive to promote new-energy vehicles will also catalyze China’s industrial transformation and upgrading and help figure out new growth points by reshuffling overcapacity-plagued industries such as iron and steel manufacturing and battery production. Moreover， the new policies are designed to encourage the innovation of business models and then nurture the development of a number of competitive enterprises.

　　To name but two examples， businesses can earn a profit by charging customers for battery recharging， maintenance and car parking， as well as the timeshare leasing of new-energy cars to maximize their value.

　　In addition， the State Council’s guidelines require different regions to follow a set of unified industrial standards for new-energy cars and related charging facilities， and prohibit them from acting on their own whims， effectively cracking down on protectionism.

　　Prior to the introduction of the new guidelines， local governments had launched different versions of new-energy promotion list and subsidy standards. Some of them tended to gear fiscal subsidies toward only car models produced by local manufacturers and exclude models they were not prepared to manufacture， a practice that has substantially bred protectionism.

　　“Only competition can propel technological progress， quality elevation and cost reduction. Local protectionism has hindered the long-term development of local manufacturers and undermined consumers’ interests，” said Su Bo， Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology.

　　No easy job

　　At the end of 2013， there were a total of 250 million oil-energy-dependent motor vehicles in China， which had together sustained an enormous petroleum processing and circulation industry comprising 2，600 refined oil wholesale businesses， 110，000 retail businesses and 100，000 gasoline stations.

　　Given that， it’s difficult for the domestic auto industry to veer away from the existing oil-driven development path. In stark contrast to the matured fuel oil car sector， the new-energy car sector is still in the growth stage， with every link in the chain being weak and feeble.

　　First， construction of necessary facilities still needs to be carried out. “Now， the biggest obstacle in the way of new-energy car popularization is the difficulty in getting cars recharged，” said Wang Binggang， an expert on energy conservation， arguing that a great number of urban consumers have the enthusiasm to purchase electric cars but don’t know how and where to apply for the installation of charging poles.

　　According to a survey by the Beijing Municipal Government in 2013， roughly 40 percent of consumers gave up the idea of buying electric cars because there were no charging poles in their communities， and only 20 percent of electric car purchasers had charging poles installed in their neighborhood.

　　To solve the problem， the State Council’s guidelines have made plain the regulations concerning the land supply for the construction of charging facilities and required to incorporate these projects into city planning.

　　Battery technology is another tough nut for Chinese electric car manufacturers to crack. At the current stage， the average endurance for common electric vehicles is 200 km， a fact that has further highlighted the urgency of intensifying construction of charging stations.

　　As Huang Zhen， a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University， pointed out， an array of technological challenges have not yet been surmounted such as long charging times， short battery endurance and high production cost.

　　Dong Yang， Secretary General of the CAAM， said that Chinese new-energy car makers should take the initiative to introduce advanced technologies from other countries and carry out cross-industrial and cross-border cooperation.

　　In effect， the core of a new-energy car is the battery. The government will focus on propping up frontrunners in this trade to make breakthroughs， Vice Minister Su said.

　　In addition to infrastructure construction and technological barriers， the seeds for a trend of driving new-energy cars need to be planted in society. Liu Gang， a professor at the Institute of Economics of Tianjin-based Nankai University， suggests that the government should play an exemplary role in using new-energy cars.

　　According to a recent State Council circular， central government organs and public-service institutions included in the new-energy car promotion plan should ensure that new-energy cars account for no less than 30 percent of their total car purchase volume in 2016， and the percentage will be increased year on year.

　　Now， China’s new-energy car market is in the midst of a painstaking start-up stage. “Lifting its sales to 500，000 units in 2015 represents an arduous task，” said Wang， the energy conservation expert， claiming that if the goal can be achieved， China’s new-energy car industry will awaken from its current lull.

　　“Then， the goal of selling 5 million units in 2020 will be in sight，” he added.

　　By Deng Yaqing