More support urged for new-energy vehicles

Updated: 2012-11-10 20:07

By Han Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按钮 0

A Beijing auto maker called for more policy support for the development of electric vehicles as a way to reduce car emissions in the nationwide campaign to build a "beautiful China" proposed by President Hu Jintao.

"Policy support is crucial for something new to mature," said Xu Heyi, chairman of the BAIC Group, one of China's largest auto makers, in a group discussion at the ongoing 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

He urged the government to introduce more policies to help build support facilities to push forward the development of new-energy vehicles.

President Hu raised the goal of building a "beautiful China" in a work report to the 18th Party congress. "We should leave to our future generations a beautiful homeland with green fields, clean water and a blue sky," he said at the opening of the congress held every five years.

To realize this goal, Xu said, efforts to cut car emissions must be made by both the Beijing municipal government and by the SAIC Group.

In the Chinese capital, vehicles consume one-third of the energy and produce 50 percent of the pollutants, according to Xu.

"Therefore, auto manufacturers bear tremendous responsibilities in the building of an ecological-friendly city," he said.

Xu's company boasts more than 40 types of new-energy vehicles, including cars, buses, and mid-sized and heavy trucks.

It plans to invest 1.7 billion yuan ($272 million) into the research and production of new-energy cars in the next three years, the company said on Wednesday.

Xu considered the city government a staunch supporter of new-energy vehicles, creating the best environment for R&D, infrastructure and standard formulation.

The municipal government has established a meeting schedule whereby 14 city government agencies will meet regularly to discuss the development of the sector.

Xu expected more favorable policies are coming. "The government should be steadfast in this, and should not care too much about short-term gains and losses," he said.

8.03K