Stronger push for 'green' cars

Potential customers examine a cutaway of a new energy car. Of the 18 million passenger vehicles sold in China last year, just 17,500 were alternative energy vehicles. [Chen Ming / For China Daily]

Heavy subsidies and easier licensing offered in Beijing

As the Spring Festival drew to an end, some 1.84 million Beijing residents had already applied to license new gasoline vehicles in 2014, more than 10 times the allotment for the entire year.

Competing in the city's lottery system, their chances are slimmer than ever after Beijing's transport authority cut the yearly quota from the previous 240,000 vehicles to 150,000 in 2014.

Winners will be announced on Feb 26.

But it is a completely different picture for buyers of "green energy" cars.

Beijing will offer 20,000 license plates for fully-electric cars through a separate lottery system in 2014, half of them available to individuals, according to a clean air action plan released in late 2013.

That means some 1,666 plates are available to individuals, almost meeting the demand from 1,700 buyers who have applied to license new-energy cars in the first two months.

The transport authority said it will increase the quota to 30,000 in 2015 and double it to 60,000 in 2016 and 2017.

In addition to the ease of licensing, both the central and local governments are offering generous subsidies to buyers of clean-energy models.

On Jan 28, four ministries raised the subsidy by 5 percent in highly industrialized target areas including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta.

Buyers of green cars can now receive a maximum subsidy of 57,000 yuan from the central government.

The Beijing transport commission announced its own subsidy package for pure electrics of up to 57,000 yuan. Its plan calls for 200,000 clean energy vehicles on the road by the end of 2017.

The list of models eligible for subsidies from the Beijing government has yet to be formally released, but a Xinhua report said it is all Chinese brands.

Biggest concern

Despite the incentives, many are reluctant to buy a green-energy model, with their biggest concern the travel range.

Cui Lina, a 28-year-old office worker, said "most fully charged electric cars can run about 140 kilometers - it is too short a distance if you drive in big cities like Beijing".

"You have to plan in advance where to go and how far the destination is before you start the car. Otherwise you won't be able to get back home if the car runs out of electricity."

Cui said many drivers also dislike electric cars due to reports of less power than conventional vehicles, not a popular characteristic with young people who often have a passion for speed.

And because they are something new in China, she doubts the quality of new-energy cars is as good as well-tested traditional vehicles.

Fan Mingsong, a 35-year-old telecom engineer, also has concerns.

"There are few charging stations in the city and I hear it is expensive to replace the batteries," said Fan.

China News Service reported that there were about 70 charging stations in Beijing by the end of 2013, most of them serving buses, taxis and other public vehicles.

The Beijing government announced it will build 1,000 charging stalls in 2014 with its long-term target to have stations within five kilometers of any locale in the city.

Still, Fan said a green car won't be his first choice, at least not in the near future.

But he added that he would not mind trying if automakers produce good cars and offer good after-sales service.

Due to the wait-and-see attitude among potential buyers, sales have been tepid.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China produced and sold about 17,500 clean-energy cars in 2013, a tiny portion of the 18 million passenger vehicles sold.