China witnesses rapid development of electric cars
中国电动汽车行业快速发展

As part of the effort to reduce carbon emissions, the Chinese government is now encouraging the appearance of more new energy vehicles on the roads. Our reporter Meng Qingsheng visited a major electric cars manufacturer in Beijing, and talked with one of their top engineers on the outlook for the industry.

Driving the low-carbon way. China has decided to put five million new energy vehicles on the roads by 2020. That will take up nearly one-third of the country’s total amount of cars.

Established in 2009, Beijing Electric Vehicle Company is taking the lead to fulfil this mission. It has brought to the market five pure electric car models.

This model of new energy cars has seen rising demand since it entered the market last year. It features hi-tech interior design, smog filtering system, and of course, a long-enduring battery that can go the distance.

The battery that EV200 employs can sustain a distance of 260 kilometers, equivalent to a round trip from the capital to neighboring Tianjin city.

The manufacturer aims to achieve an annual production of 200-thousand cars by 2020, ten times higher than the current capacity.

This requires more charging facilities to be built nationwide.

"We did go through hardships in the beginning. The lack of charging facilities affected our businesses. Our company set up a special team to expand the facility services. We provide free charging facilities for individual customers, while cooperating with other companies to build more public services," Hu Wei, chief engineer with Beijing Electric Vehicle Company, said.

The company is now going further by introducing a self-developed alternating- and direct-current converter.

This technology allows the car’s battery to support other vehicles, as well as home appliances.

It’s part of the V-to-G system that returns electricity to the grid.

"The electric cars are connected with the grid. Therefore, it's important to have electric load management. A vehicle uses its excess battery capacity to provide power to the electric grid in response to peak load demands. These vehicles can then be recharged during off-peak hours," Hu said.

The fleet of new energy vehicles in China is the second largest in the world after the United States.

China has rolled out a set of measures to further promote the industry’s development.

This move not only contributes to global efforts to fight climate change, but also helps spreads a low-carbon lifestyle in the world's most populated country.