Electric future dream machines
- Source: Global Times
- [23:01 December 14 2009]
- Comments
Gasoline-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars are competing for future sales. Photo: CFP
By Xu Donghuan
Zhang Huibin is a rarity among car buyers. Two years ago, the 37-year-old lawyer spent 260,000 yuan ($38,000) on a hybrid Toyota Prius – one-third higher than the price of a conventional car.
"I'm very proud of my decision," he said, as he walked toward the silver half-moon shaped vehicle in the parking lot not far from his office, "because I have always been fascinated with fuel-efficient cars."
In the driver's seat, Zhang started the car. But since the internal combustion engine only kicked in when the car reached a speed of 24kilometers per hour, the car lacked the rattle and hum of a conventional vehicle. With no gas burning, no exhaust spewed from the tailpipe.
"It cost me an extra 70,000 yuan over a conventional car, but I gained a green car with low emissions," he said. "To me, it's worth the price."
China's car market continues to defy the worldwide economic recession and should hit a new sales record of 13.4 million cars this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
While creating more jobs, the bullish car market means more demand for oil, more pressure on an already-strained infrastructure and more air pollution.
The urgency of the economic and environmental issues has converted the government to embracing new-energy vehicles: be they gasoline-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids or all-electric cars.
Undecided, the government seems to be encouraging all options simultaneously. But important decisions must soon be made if China is to fulfill its Copenhagen commitments. Subsidies, practicality and pricing will all play critical roles in deciding which option or combination of options is chosen by China. With no clear direction coming from Beijing, the new car market can seem a bit chaotic and unpredictable.
Three years after the Prius was launched in China, sales remain negligible.
