Confeidence

According to China's blueprint, the government will help create one or two automakers that can each produce more than 1 million new-energy cars per year by 2020. It will also help establish three to five automakers which can each produce more than 500,000 new-energy cars per year.

"We are optimistic about the future," said Yuan Tao, vice president of the Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., a well-known domestic automaker based in the east China's Wuhu City.

He said Chery has launched a new BEV model last month, the Riich M1-EV, which the white-collar worker in Hefei, Wu Lingyu, intends to buy.

"We have received 300 orders so far," Yuan said. "We predict that Chery can sell at least 10,000 BEVs next year."

He said Chery spends 7-12 percent of its sales income on research and development every year, with much of it going into new-energy cars. In 2010, some 2.4 billion yuan will be spent on research and development, he said.

Although there is no accurate figure for the present number of new-energy cars in China, one thing is certain: the Chinese public is yet to widely accept BEVs and PHEVs because of the limited number of charging stations.

In response, Yuan said: "I think it makes little sense to talk about the number and consumption of new-energy cars for now. What we should do now is to make excellent products and offer high-quality service. Then there will be more buyers."

Like Chery, Wuhan-based Dongfeng Motor Corporation has also made the development and production of new-energy cars a priority.

"We will invest 3 billion yuan over the next five years to develop new-energy cars," said Zhou Wenjie, vice general-manager of the company.

"By 2015, our production of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) will reach 100,000 and that for BEVs will reach 50,000," he said.

In addition to supporting domestic automakers, China also welcomes international cooperation in developing new-energy cars.

"China encourages domestic businesses to strengthen cooperation with foreign EV manufacturers, including those from Japan, Europe and the United States. Working together can boost the development of the EV industry," Gao Dongsheng, deputy director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Resources Utilization with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told reporters in November.

As China focuses on BEV development, more and more charging stations will be built.

Under the plan of State Grid, a state-owned power company, China will build 4,000 BEV charging stations over the next five years. By 2020, the number of charging stations will reach 10,000.

"China's new-energy auto industry will soon enter a period of fast-growth, which will greatly contribute not only to the country's industrial upgrading process, but also reduce emissions," Prof. Liu Gang said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2010)