China promotes its CleanTech Industry through Electric Vehicle subsidies

China is already the world’s largest producer of Solar Energy Equipment with almost 50% of global marketshare and is looking to dominate the Wind Energy Industry as well.Now it is looking to extend its leadership to other sectors of the Clean Technology as well.Major global automakers are already looking to collaborate with Chinese companies  in Lithium based Battery technology for Electric Vehicles.Coda Automotive a US based Electric Vehicle startup is going to use Chinese technology for setting up a Li Battery plant in Ohio.Honda and Toyota are also looking to collaborate with Chinese companies in setting up EV  plants in China.

BYD is one of the world’s market leaders in Battery and Electric Vehicle Technology while other Chinese automakers like SAIC and Geely are also ramping up their Electric Vehicle plans.The Government subsidies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles will give a further boost to Chinese companies which have substantial share of the Chinese home market.Note that China is already the largest automobile market in the world overtaking the US  in 2009.It is on its way to become the Manufacturing and Technology hub of the next generation of the Auto Industry as well.Contrast this with the decay of Detroit which used to be  the world’s Automobile Capital .

China to subsidize hybrid, electric car purchases – Reuters

China said on Tuesday that it would launch a pilot programme in five cities to provide subsidies to buyers of electric and hybrid cars, as the government steps up efforts to cut emissions in the world’s biggest auto market.Residents of Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as Hangzhou and Hefei in the east of the country and Changchun in the northeast, would receive up to 50,000 yuan ($7,320) in subsidies if they buy plug-in hybrid cars, the Ministry of Finance said on its website.The maximum subsidy for those who bought fully electric cars was 60,000 yuan, the ministry said.

Taking cues from the government, the biggest players in the Chinese auto market, from top state auto group SAIC Motor Corp to rising star Geely Automotive Holding, have been ramping up efforts to bring low-emission vehicles onto the roads.SAIC plans to roll out its first hybrid car this year, while Shenzhen-based car and battery maker BYD Co, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, started retail sales of its plug-in hybrid F3DM in March.The government would also allocate unspecified funding to bankroll the construction of charging stations and battery recovery networks in the pilot cities, the finance ministry added.