China Aims to Take Lead In Electric, Hybrid Vehicle Production

The Chinese government has embarked on a plan to make the country the leading global producer of electric and hybrid vehicles within 3 years, The New York Times reports. The government is investing large sums in developing a new generation of vehicles and by 2011 China intends to ramp up its production to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric vehicles, up from just 2,100 last year. By 2011, Korea and Japan together are expected to produce 1.1 million hybrid or electric vehicles and U.S. production is expected to reach 267,000 vehicles. China also is planning to offer taxi fleets and local governments an $8,000 subsidy for every electric or hybrid vehicle they purchase and to build a large network of stations where consumers can re-charge their vehicles. The Times reports that by focusing on newer automotive technology, China plans to essentially skip the phase of mass-production of gasoline-powered vehicles and move directly to next-generation technologies. The shift to electric and hybrid vehicles will only reduce China’s greenhouse gas emissions by 19 percent since three-quarters of the nation’s electricity is produced by coal-fired power plants.