Chinese expert calls for development of low-speed vehicles
It was unreasonable for the Chinese government to ignore market demand and not include low-speed electric vehicles when making a plan for developing the new-energy automobile industry over the next eight years, a renowned automotive industry expert in China told a clean-energy vehicle forum Saturday in Beijing.
The Energy-Saving and New-Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2012-20) is expected to be released soon by the State Council, but the more feasible and economic low-speed electric cars are missing out in terms of national planning because the government is aiming too high, Guo Konghui, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told a gathering of officials, businessmen and scientists.
"For a long time, the authorities have held a negative attitude toward low-speed electric cars," Guo said. "It's like asking a child practicing weight-lifting to aim for the world record from the start."
The government is actively installing recharging facilities across the country and pushing for the development of high-speed, long-range but much more expensive electric vehicles. But it has never come up with a standard for developing low-cost electric cars that run at up to 70 kilometers an hour on lead-acid batteries, and could be commercialized based on current technologies and market demand, said Guo.
Currently, an electric vehicle that uses lithium batteries, a more advanced technology, has to carry over 200 kilograms of batteries to allow a range of 150 kilometers on a single charge. This technology is "still far from industrialization and marketization," Li Yizhong, former minister of industry and information technology told the same forum.
A recent car accident in Shenzhen, where a BYD lithium battery-powered taxi caught fire after a crash, killing three people, has raised concerns over the safety of the nascent technology.
The average passenger vehicle gasoline consumption in China decreased to 7.5 liters per 100 kilometers in 2011 from 9.5 liters in 2005. According to the soon-to-be-released development plan, the average consumption will fall to 5 liters per 100 kilometers in 2020, and the development of clean-energy vehicles will be critical to achieving the goal, Li noted.
Given that a lack of standards can lead to duplicate production and waste, Shandong New-Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Alliance issued its own regional low-speed automotive vehicle standard in August 2011, the first in China.
In 2011, the province manufactured 68,000 green cars - including 64,000 small-sized, low-speed ones that use conventional lead-acid batteries - generating 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) in sales, according to Guo.
In comparison, the State-led green vehicle initiative has only sold 20,000 units so far, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
"For a long time, the authorities have held a negative attitude toward low-speed electric cars," Guo said. "It's like asking a child practicing weight-lifting to aim for the world record from the start."
The government is actively installing recharging facilities across the country and pushing for the development of high-speed, long-range but much more expensive electric vehicles. But it has never come up with a standard for developing low-cost electric cars that run at up to 70 kilometers an hour on lead-acid batteries, and could be commercialized based on current technologies and market demand, said Guo.
Currently, an electric vehicle that uses lithium batteries, a more advanced technology, has to carry over 200 kilograms of batteries to allow a range of 150 kilometers on a single charge. This technology is "still far from industrialization and marketization," Li Yizhong, former minister of industry and information technology told the same forum.
A recent car accident in Shenzhen, where a BYD lithium battery-powered taxi caught fire after a crash, killing three people, has raised concerns over the safety of the nascent technology.
The average passenger vehicle gasoline consumption in China decreased to 7.5 liters per 100 kilometers in 2011 from 9.5 liters in 2005. According to the soon-to-be-released development plan, the average consumption will fall to 5 liters per 100 kilometers in 2020, and the development of clean-energy vehicles will be critical to achieving the goal, Li noted.
Given that a lack of standards can lead to duplicate production and waste, Shandong New-Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Alliance issued its own regional low-speed automotive vehicle standard in August 2011, the first in China.
In 2011, the province manufactured 68,000 green cars - including 64,000 small-sized, low-speed ones that use conventional lead-acid batteries - generating 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) in sales, according to Guo.
In comparison, the State-led green vehicle initiative has only sold 20,000 units so far, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
