Authorities in smoggy Beijing are keen to encourage what they call “new energy” vehicles, but at present the city has few public charging stations – the 60 or so that exist are reserved for buses and taxis. A new plan aims to change that, requiring new residential communities in the Chinese capital to install chargers for 18% of their parking units.

“Government involvement is indispensable for the installation of charging posts, since it is not profitable now,” remarked Niu Jinmin, director of the center for promoting new energy cars in Beijing.

The plan also calls for the city to install 1,000 DC fast chargers this year, mainly in public parking lots, business districts, gas stations, parks, and hospitals. “The expansion of charging facilities will encourage the conversion of taxis into electric cars,” said Niu Jinmin, explaining that an electric taxi can save 120 yuan ($19.20) a day in fuel costs. “Judging from the trial of the BYD E6 electric car in Shenzhen, electric-powered taxis can operate smoothly in the city, so long as there are rapid charging facilities every 150-200 kilometers,” said Niu.

Source: Want China Times
Image: Nicolas Raymond/Flickr