Latest Electric Car News and Electric Concept Cars
China plans to lead the way in electric car productionPosted 17/04/09
Some interesting electric car news - China are currently creating lots of electric concept cars. The Chinese government have developed a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of electric cars within three years. This would make the car market even more competitive when the next chapter of automotive technology explodes. China is hoping to make a positive from a current negative: it is behind the US, Japan and other countries in making internal combustion engine cars, but by jumping the current technology and working on the next, China hopes to get a head start with electric cars on its rivals.
China hopes to reduce urban pollution and lower its dependence on foreign oil. China gets three quarters of its electrical power from burning coal but urban pollution would be reduced by shifting the source of smog from car exhaust pipes to power plants located outside of cities.
China ia aiming to raise its yearly production of hybrid and electric cars to 500,000 by 2011. CSM Worldwide, a consulting agency that specialises in forecasts for car makers, predicts that Japan and South Korea together will be producing 1.1 million hybrid or electric cars by then and North America will only be making 267,000.
Electric cars have some distinct advantages in China compared with other countries. Driving between cities is rare, commutes are usually short and very often at low speeds due to traffic jams. The electric car industry does face challenges in its local market though. Many urban Chinese live in apartments and are unable to charge electric cars at home, so more charging centres will be needed. A tougher challenge is related to the cost of lithium ion batteries, particularly with petrol prices currently at low prices compared to last year. Chinese consumers are quite thrifty. Tianjin-Qingyuan is releasing a new electric car this year, the body of which comes from a petrol car that normally retails for $US14,600. However when equipped with an electric motor and batteries the price will double, to almost $US30,000. Even if the government awards buyers its maximum subsidy of $US8800, its a hefty premium. Large scale production could drive down the cost of the battery pack and electric motor by 30 or 40 percent though.
We hope to bring you news of Chinas electric concept cars soon.