Shanghai, July 15 (Gasgoo.com) Sixteen automakers in China has started receiving the government's clean-energy subsidy of 3,000 yuan ($441) for each green vehicle they sold since June 1 this year, and 71 models from the local companies and joint ventures in the country are eligible for the subsidy. The Chinese government said it would choose more models to qualify for the subsidies in the future.
Launching such an economic stimulus project in the traditional off-season for auto sales can greatly help the automakers survive the market downturn, and more importantly, it helps to popularize cars with lower emissions and boost development of the automobile industry in the country.
BUT is that really what you can see from these policies? Haven't you ever thought that these subsidy policies might spoil the Chinese automakers some way?
Let's look at some questions the domestic carmakers have got since the day the government announced its preferable green-car policy.
Question 1. What plans do you have currently? Will you speed up the R&D of electric cars?
Question 2. When will you launch the first electric car?
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Weird thing is they all had the same answers.
Well, the truth is no company has so far sold any new energy car to any person. BYD once said it had sold more than 40 electric cars to the individual buyers. However, it turned out not, some sources form BYD recently said those cars were actually sold to the Shenzhen government, and BYD's charging station for electric cars in the Longgang Grand Canal Centre, Shenzhen city, Guangdong province, barely has any consumers at present.
Even until now, consumers have tested not a single electric car, so all those e-car launching announcements you've heard are all lies.... What a shame!
Fortunately, there are still carmakers, who know that the research and development of electric cars is a long-term task, will not accelerate launching.
Now, see the topic again-- will these new energy subsidy policies work?
I think these policies are actually putting the automakers under heavy pressure' cause the Chinese government has never care its automobile industry so much, and just think about that tempting 60,000-yuan ($8,853) subsidy the government has promised to grant if one is willing to buy an electric car. WOW, will you give it a shot?
I say it would be perfect if an automaker can launch the "right car" at this time. By that, I mean the technology is mature and the cost is lower as well. After all, many have said there must a bright future for new energy vehicle market in China, and if you wanna be part of it, get on the right track.
Nevertheless, if all automakers are stimulated by these favorable policies and all pressing ahead to the new energy world and trying every way to accelerate their R&D of electric cars, I don't think the quality can be well controlled. Instead, there might be piles of scrap iron coming out, and those automakers will certainly want to sell them up ASAP.
Well, again, I wanna ask: is China's battery technology mature enough now? Are the supporting facilities improved? Can our electric cars get through consumers' test?
The answer is still no. If all automakers have their electric cars launched to the market, but the market is not ready and consumers are not interested, then what will happen after a couple of months? In addition, even if someone would like to try this gizmo, what would he or she be acting if the quality issues keep bothering them?
So think about it and take it slow. The government's support is great, but the automakers better stay calm doing the right thing and focus on developing the core technology, improving the car performance, lowering the cost, and keep the development of the whole new energy project steady and fast.
That said always consider your own ability and don't pile too high.
