In Chinas�auto industry stimulation plan, which was released in January of this year, the government decided to allocate 10 billion yuan in the coming three years to support technology innovation in the auto industry and the development of new energy cars, hoping to increase China’s annual production capacity for new energy cars to 0.5 million, very close to China’s monthly car production volume.
In February, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly launched pilots for energy-saving and new energy vehicles in 13 cities, focusing on public transportation such as buses and taxies. Last week, Wan Gang, minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, declared China would form an alliance for the energy-saving and new energy vehicle industry by the end of this month, in order to further promote the cooperation between car manufacturers and research institutes.
The car makers that are unwilling to miss the chance for the new market have already successively launched new energy cars; and this is also what the government has expected, for new energy vehicles will become an important opportunity for upgrading the  "Made in China" label.
The Chinese government is looking at the development of new energy from a strategic perspective, and regarding it an opportunity for China. "According to past experience, every important financial crisis was followed by a technological revolution, which became an important engine in the new round of economic growth. In the next round of technological revolution, breakthrough in new energy technology will play a main role," said Wan Gang, who always has faith in new energy vehicle.
Shi Dinghuan, counselor of the State Council and chairman of Chinese Renewable Energy Society, also said that while IT (information technology) played a major role in the technological revolution triggered by the last round of economic crisis, now it was time for ET (energy technology).
Some analysts expect the coming of an ET era not only means we’ll make more use of renewable energy such as wind and photovolts, but it will also be able to enter Chinese people’s daily life, like what IT has become since the US President Clinton launched the plan for the information superhighway in the 90’s.
China is preparing for the coming of the new era. New energy projects such as nuclear power and wind power are mushrooming in every corner of the country. Just one month ago, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction, launched a "Plan for Solar Energy Roofing". In the future, many Chinese residents may move into houses that can produce electricity on their own.
According to Wan Gang, China has now basically acquired key technologies in energy-saving and new energy vehicles, and is enjoying resources and market advantages in key components of new energy vehicles such as lithium battery, fuel battery and permanent magnet driving motor.
However, many small car makers in China are still omitting R&D process in order to survive with low prices. Like assembling toys, they buy engines, transmission systems, and other components, and make products by simply assembling all these together.
"Now independent brands only account for no more than 20% of total brands in China’s traditional auto industry. China’s new energy car industry should draw a lesson from it," commented Li Junfeng, an expert in National Development and Reform Commission, "without key technology, China may achieve nothing in the industry, despite some current advantages."
However, the government now seems to be deciding whether to achieve technical breakthroughs first or rather cultivate the market. Now, the government is still focusing on the technical upgrading, but it was also rumored it was going to grant subsidies to new energy car buyers to boost the consumption market.
In fact, matching facilities are worth more attention. Take the electric car for example. Battery technology and the construction of battery charging stations are two key problems standing in the way of its development. Build Your Dreams Inc., or BYD, is the world’s second largest producer of rechargeable batteries. BYD’s iron battery can already support commercial use and the market has gone farther than the government in terms of the production of electric cars. In March this year, Nanjing-based IVECO declared it had become the first automaker in China to realize mass production of electric cars. In the same month, Chery’s first electric car S18 rolled off the production line, and will be sold on the market within the year.  The industry is still waiting for the government to make up its mind to build infrastructure, namely charging network, for electric cars.
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