Long road ahead for low-carbon cars in China
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How many of the "new-energy cars" -- cars that run on things besides just gas or diesel -- that have recently hit the road are low-carbon? The answer: none, said Li Junfeng, a senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission, at the China Low Carbon Development Forum 2010 on Saturday.
No domestic auto manufacturer is currently capable of making any type of low-carbon cars – fuel cell, biofuel or electric, Li said, warning that it's prohibited to sell high-carbon cars marketed as low carbon.
Following a government announcement in January 2009 that it would provide subsidies to auto companies in the new-energy car industry, developing and producing new-energy cars has become trendy among domestic automakers. But despite being new energy, the cars still lack the technology to meet the government's standards to be classified as low-carbon.
"It's only the eve of new-energy cars where most key technologies aren't mature yet," said Chen Quanshi, an auto researcher at Tsinghua University.
Other industry experts also focus on the immaturity of key technology in developing electric cars. They note that international car makers also face severe problems in reducing carbon emissions.
New-energy cars are the new trend in the auto industry's development, and China can't afford to miss it. The biggest problem of China's new energy auto industry is the lack of originality and innovation.
The absence of a relatively strict licensing mechanism, which enables companies to label their vehicles as low carbon, has made it possible for automakers to cheat the subsidy system, said Li Shengmao, an energy business analyst at Ocn.com.cn
Since the government announced the subsidy program, more than 40 Chinese car companies have claimed to possess the key technology to manufacture electric cars -- far exceeding the number in Japan and the U.S.
A recent catalog of new-energy cars has listings of more than 100 new-energy car models by almost all domestic automakers.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has predicted that there will be more than 500,000 electric cars by 2015, while hybrid cars will account for more than 30 percent of the auto industry's annual output. Fuel efficiency also will rise by more than 30 percent.
Sources say there will likely be a more detailed regulation on new-energy cars by the end of this month.
A deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation said the auto business was becoming the focus of public attention on emission and low-carbon issues. "We don't want to make the industry the second real estate in China and become the target of public criticism," he said.
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