China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The Chinese government has ordered its officials to boost the take-up of electric cars for official uses with a  requirement for 30% EVs by 2017.

The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further.

China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward.

The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.

There are incentives in place for the government purchase of new energy cars, but a recent scrapping of a 10 per cent sales tax for new energy vehicles should also help imported BEVs, plug-in hybrids and FCEVs to take a share.

It’s a far bolder plan than the UK government’s, and an extra 5 million cars in China running mainly on electricity – a big number, but probably less than 2 per cent of the total cars on the road – should have an impact on pollution in urban areas.

Although that will be as a result of shifting it to rural electricity producing areas rather than actually reducing the country’s pollution footprint.