China clearly sees EVs as a major player in the future auto industry.  To achieve widespread adoption within their country, the government has kicked off several new incentive programs and has begun to increase manufacturing capacity and build new R&D facilities.

In December the cities of Denver, Colorado and Chongqing, China along with the help of Ford Motor Company and Chinese automaker Chang an Group signed an agreement that the four parties will work on a large scale cooperation effort over the next 10 years.  The agreement outlines cooperative development of hybrid and electric vehicles and to help to build the city of Chongqing into a worldwide leader in R&D and manufacturing of electric vehicle parts and components.  The agreement will push this city in China ahead of many nearby cities and evolve it into the EV hub of the area.

The agreement was signed many months ago but the cooperative efforts have just begun.  Part of these efforts between the local governments and the aforementioned companies is to find ways to boost sales of advanced technology vehicles.  One such method in use by the program is to offer a series of incentives.

Some programs include the local government in Shanghai which will offer subsidies of up to 20% off the purchase price to buyers of advanced technology vehicles.  The governments in Shenzhen and Xi an have ordered numerous plug-in vehicles  and will purchase several EVs to display around the city, promoting the vehicles.  The city of Shenzhen will build an infrastructure for charging EVs, and BYD will begin sales of its plug-in F3DM this September.  Additional cities throughout China have stepped up by offering large incentives on EV and hybrid vehicles in hopes to raise buyers interest.

Though additional efforts are underway in China to increase EV sales, the cooperation efforts of these four groups have made a significant effort on their own.   China aims to be a world leader in advanced technology vehicles, and this collaboration is just another stepping stone along the path.

Source:  China Automotive Review via Wards Auto (Login required)