Believe it or not, interest in greener options for motoring in China is gathering pace as the country works towards reducing pollution levels. The standard view of China amongst many people is that it is a country pursuing economic growth at whatever the social and economic cost to the environment. The country is undoubtedly dogged by some of the worst air and water pollution from unregulated economic activity, however with a burgeoning middle class, maintaining the environmental quality might be the key to ensuring environmentally sustainable solutions are applied in China.
China is currently embarking on what it has called a ‘New Energy’ project. It seems they have realized that in spite of striking deals somewhat on the quiet in Africa for oil reserves, the price of oil continues to push skywards and that reliance on this most controversial of raw materials is clearly unsustainable. China continues to develop a power strategy based on relatively cheap and plentiful domestic coal reserves. However it is also investing in nuclear power in line with a desire to improve the quality of the environment.
What does this mean for the development of hybrid cars in China? The combination of a shying away from oil at a political level and having a continuing rise in disposable incomes means that the country could end up being the world’s biggest market for battery powered cars. It’s estimated that there could be 2.2 million vehicles on Chinese roads by 2020. This is a good example of a technology quantum leap. A similar thing is taking place in Africa as millions of Africans now own a mobile phone having never had a land-line. For China this means that millions of motorists go directly from conventional cars to pure battery vehicles, bypassing the hybrid versions altogether. Pure battery vehicles should be ideal for China because most motorists drive in urban areas rather than make long journeys.
While this may not, on the face of it, be great news for the hybrid market per se, there is going to be some time before pure battery cars are available to meet the demand of millions of new car consumers in China. So there is a window of opportunity for hybrid manufacturers.
Toyota is planning to start production of low-emission cars in China along with Geely Automobiles and Dongfeng Motor Group who plan to start production of electric and hybrid vehicles by the end of 2012. The latter has a target of selling 100,000 electric cars by 2015. Ford has also announced plans to introduce a test fleet of electric vehicles to the Chinese market later this year. There’s something of a scramble among both domestic and international car companies to get a toe-hold in the market for low emission cars.
It will be interesting to see if the Chinese authorities, having committed themselves to improving their environmental record, are willing to offer incentives to both individuals and companies to make sure it happens. Or will there be preferential treatment for domestic manufacturers to the detriment of Chinese consumers?
- The Evolution of the Hybrid Car
- Examples of Popular Hybrid Models
- Why Hybrid Cars are so Popular
- Barriers to Greater Hybrid Uptake
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Hybrid Car Developments in China
Written by Mark Evans
Edited by Stanley Butler
Illustrations by Julianne Harnish
Video Engineering by Aaron Peters
Video Production by IMEX Marketing
Executive Producers
International Tuition Services Ltd
Spheri Dot CA Incorporated
