Several challenges need to be tackled

Liu Shaoshan, chairman& co-founder of Perceptin Corporate [Photo/China Daily]

New energy vehicles are not popular among consumers because the existing technology is not mature enough to increase the life of the car batteries or make them affordable, which makes long-term maintenance of a battery very expensive.

The other big problem with new energy vehicles is the critical shortage of charging stations or points in first-tier cities, which the authorities need to address first.

To tackle such challenges, the authorities need to continue the existing preferential policy for new energy vehicles, or even expand it to provide subsidies not only for car buyers, but also for those buying replacement batteries and companies that install charging points.

Besides, the government should make efforts to educate future buyers, by including information on new energy vehicles in school textbooks, so that people know the benefits of such vehicles and the importance of environmental protection from an early age, and develop a preference for such vehicles when they grow up.

Moreover, the government departments' push for ethanolgas mix is not contradictory to the principle of promoting new energy vehicles, because it will help reduce the use of fossil fuel and cut emissions in the transitory period before new energy vehicles become a way of life.

More foreign capital could help industry

Zhang Xu, a senior analyst with Analysis Corporate, a data analytics company [Photo/China Daily]

Unlike the case of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, China stands at the same starting line with developed economies in terms of research and development in new energy vehicles. So, for a change, China has a chance of overtaking the advanced economies in this area.

To begin with, China could take advantage of foreign manufacturers' branding to explore the global market. And the flow of more foreign capital into the country could help local manufacturers reshape their core competitiveness and branding. And by boosting R&D in new energy vehicles, China will also fulfill its environmental protection responsibility.