China has been upping the ante on electric vehicle [EV] production and utilization, including tax incentives for EV manufacturers and EV battery manufacturing, which likely enabled the Wanxiang acquisition of failed A123 Systems this past year.
Beijing looks to be introducing some tax incentives for consumers, in addition to state incentives. Local governments and fleet operations are taking the lead, though, especially since they have the capital to invest in slightly more expensive technology.
BYD, a Chinese EV manufacturer, has been right there with these government offices and fleet operations, providing the latest in EV technology for cleaner fleets. Previously, in the city of Shenzen, a city populated with over ten million in the southern Guangdong province, BYD had supplied 300 BYD e6 EVs taxis, and these have logged over 18 million miles of service. An additional 200 BYD k9 eBus have logged over 6 million miles. Shenzen’s public transportation operator is planning an additional 500 each of the e6 and k9 EVs. This year, BYD won the bidding to supply 500 e6 police EVs to the city of Shenzen.
Regarding the private automobile market, BYD has available the e6 pure EV and the S6DM Hybrid, both of which are making waves in the private EV and hybrid market. BYD recently launched the Zero Down, Zero Cost, Zero Emissions marketing, to encourage more consumers to adopt the new technology. China wants to have over five million EVs on the road by the end of the decade.
