Shanghai, March 12 (Gasgoo.com) With technology yet to improve, it still needs time for China's new energy vehicles to reach the mass market, an industry executive said recently in Beijing on the sidelines of the nation's annual session of the National People's Congress, Xinhua News reported.
Zeng Qinghong, general manager of the Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group (Guangzhou Auto, or GAIG), said on Wednesday that new energy vehicles are a growing trend, and that automakers are encouraged by the government and consumers to produce environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient cars.
But he added that the key for the development of the new energy vehicle industry is the technology, saying that automakers need to improve the performance of engines, electrical control systems, and especially batteries, all of which will take time to achieve.
Zeng stressed that electric vehicles are environmentally-friendly since the electricity used to power them is greatly derived from coal in China. If automakers can improve battery performance, electric vehicles will be more energy efficient and contribute to a low-carbon economy.
As it still takes time for China to commercialize new-energy vehicles, Zeng called for further efforts in energy efficiency and performance improvement in the traditional vehicle sector.
Earlier this week, Zeng said he expects sales of Guangzhou Auto Group, a Chinese partner of Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, to grow about 15% to more than 900,000 vehicles this year.
