TOPIC 'Ecological Vehicles, Motors & Fuels' on Sep 06, 2010 (CEST)
e-mobility in Asia
East Asia accounts for 56% of the sales of electric vehicles. China buys more than 90% of e-bikes in the world and Japan buys the most hybrid cars. In 2010, it is reported that China, with the aim of improving air quality and reducing their dependence on fossil fuels, will initiate a two-year pilot program to subsidize buyers of alternative energy vehicles in five cities: Changchun, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hefei.
The use of e-mobility vehicles will become much easier over the next several years in China, because China is developing the infrastructure to support the use of pure electric charge and plug in hybrid cars. China also plans to expand a project to promote efficient energy use and alternative energy vehicles on public transportation to 20 cities in 2013.
By 2021, the sales of electric cars in China are projected to have a market value far greater than the huge and growing number of sales of e-bikes in China. If the Chinese people bought a substantial amount of electric cars in the next five years, it would significantly decrease global warming because of the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles.
In June 2009, it is reported that Japanese customers can receive grants that reduce the cost of an e-mobility vehicle by almost 30%. The Japanese government is also exempting consumers in Japan of electric cars and hybrids from taxes for three years. The Toyota Prius, which is the best selling electric car in the world, sold twice the number of vehicles in Japan as compared to the United States.
There have been several events that can produce electric vehicles outside their current field of application such as e-bikes, scooters and neighborhood vehicles. First, advances in battery technology that is lithium-based, largely driven by the consumer electronics industry, allow full-size electric vehicles to be propelled on a single electric charge as far as conventional cars can go on a single tank of gasoline. Also, the cost of production of light, lithium batteries of greater capacity is gradually decreasing as the technology matures and production volumes increase.
These new advances in technology, as well as the implementation of the infrastructure and financial incentives necessary to ensuring the success of e-mobility vehicles in China and Japan, create endless possibilities for e-mobility vehicles and manufactures in the East Asian market.
Heinz_Dreier
