Want China Times, Staff Reporter, 19 May 2013
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| A new-energy car show in Jinan, Shandong province. (Photo/Xinhua) |
Electric
cars continue to face cooling global sales, while many in China debate which
way the country should go forward with its own energy development, reports the
China Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League.
Some
industry insiders say that China should continue developing electric cars,
while others say that they should be abandoned in favor of hybrid cars. The
government plans to subsidize both electric and hybrid cars according to their
oil-saving ratio divided by 16 degrees, with the minimum subsidy as high as 3,000
yuan (US$490) per car, but the specifics of the plan have yet to be revealed.
There are
currently three types of new energy vehicles in development: electric cars,
which uses electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage
device; plug-in hybrids, which combines an internal combustion engine with
rechargeable batteries; and conventional hybrids, which has an internal
combustion engine and can save energy, but cannot be recharged.
Plug-in
hybrid cars have been the main focus and priority for research and development,
according to industry insiders, while some ventures continue to explore
possibilities for both electric cars and hybrids, such as Toyota and PSA
Peugeot-Citroen.
Dr Herbert
Diess, a BMW director in charge of research and development, said that plug-in
hybrids will be a very good choice for future development, because it can
satisfy the needs of short-distance and longer-distance travel. BMW's new i3
electric cars are targeting the needs in drivers in larger cities such as
Beijing and Shanghai, but it's not the best choice for long-distance travel,
Diess said.
Volkswagen
said it will focus on developing plug-in hybrids and will soon mass produce its
Porche Panamera and Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid cars. The German automaker
will also continue to develop electric cars, and will soon commence production
of its Volkswagen up! and e-Gold models.
Mercedes-Benz
has been comparatively conservative regarding the outlook for electric cars,
the China Youth Daily said, but the company will introduce an S-series of
plug-in hybrids, and is cooperating with the Chinese automaker BYD to develop
an electric car.
Ford
Motors, which is now the second-largest US hybrid carmaker with a market share
of 15%, said it is developing both electric cars and plug-in hybrids, adding
that once China's new-energy car market has chosen its direction, Ford will be
able to immediately introduce its products into the market.
BYD,
China's most experienced carmaker in the electric car field, has also adopted a
strategy to develop plug-in hybrids for the private passenger-car market, and
also develop electric passenger cars and buses to target the public
transportation markets.
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