The 3D Express Coach concept is the latest effort in China to encourage the use of eco-friendly transport.
The car industry in China is trying to position itself as more eco-friendly, with the Auto China 2010 show in April having the motto “For a Greener Tomorrow”.
Brilliance Auto, a car maker based in China, displayed a tiny electric commuter car, while Volkswagen, the leading brand in the country in terms of sales, said it would start making electric vehicles within four years.
The company showed an electric version of its Lavida saloon, a model that is designed specifically for the Chinese market.
Nearly 100 green vehicles were on display at the event, including many from overseas makers such as Hyundai.
The Chinese car maker BYD produced what was billed as the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid saloon, the F3DM.
The vehicle went on sale to government and corporate customers in 2008 but generated little interest from customers, not least because the hybrid version of the car was nearly three times as expensive as the standard non-hybrid model.
There have since been price cuts to encourage sales and the model has been made available to individual buyers, with sales in some other parts of the world due to begin next year.
The government in China has tried to encourage the use of electric vehicles through a trial programme in five cities – Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Hefei, Changchun and Shanghai – in which subsidies were offered.
The government also offered the cities’ authorities subsidies to install plug-in points.
In major cities including Beijing, authorities have also tried to increase the number of people riding bicycles through low-cost rental schemes, although these have often met with limited success. The increase in the number of metro systems is another method used to battle congestion.
