Final speech of Wen Jiabao focuses on smog problem
In his final speech, Wen Jiabao put emphasis on a topic that gained increasing attention from the Chinese public as well as in international media: air pollution and smog. Up to half of the pollution in China’s cities is caused by vehicle exhaust. The departing Chinese government under Wen and Hu Jintao has already launched a generous subsidy scheme for battery driven vehicles. At the same time, these subsidies apparently still don’t suffice as Chinese consumers are highly reluctant to purchase an electric vehicle.
The reason is certainly the considerable price but also the limited range of EVs. To name an example, it will still cost more than 40.000 USD – despite generous subsidies of up to 30.000 USD – to purchase the e6 of BYD, the Chinese pioneer in battery technology. Recent suggestions include expanding the pilot city project from the current 5 cities to 20 cities. As Wen Jiabao stated, more is to be done. It should give rise to optimism that Wen put the serious air quality problem as a priority topic in his final speech to parliament. Not only is Chinas one-party regime a good prerequisite for a fast, centralized decision making, but also the public discontent is noticeably on the rise.
For further information, please contact info@berners-consulting.net.