Green revolution hits auto industry

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AT the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, the joint pavilion of General Motors and its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp is proving to be one of the most popular of industrial showcases.

Every day, visitors from all over the world stand in line for up to three hours to get into the auto pavilion. They are anxious to see the cars of the future and how they will change the way people drive.

For businesses, the pavilion offers a sneak preview of future opportunities evolving in the fields of zero-emissions and traffic control.
Last year, China surpassed the United States as the world's largest auto market, with sales topping 13.6 million units. That was a 46 percent surge from a year earlier.

Shanghai was among the first five cities nationwide to offer national subsidies for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles.
People who buy cars, which save 20 percent on fuel consumption, are eligible to receive 3,000 yuan (US$441) in financial aid. The highest subsidy of 60,000 yuan is for cars that run solely on electricity.

According to a draft policy for promoting green vehicles in Shanghai, the city is planning to offer an extra 20,000 yuan to those who buy a plug-in hybrid and 50,000 yuan to those buying electric cars, Liu Jianhua, head of the city's new-energy promotion office, said recently.
Companies developing new technologies are also expected to enjoy favorable tax breaks and low-interest loans.

Liu said the measures are part of the Shanghai government's efforts to encourage production capacity of 100,000 green vehicles by 2012, of which 60,000 units will be passenger cars. That will push the annual output value of the new-energy car industry to 30 billion yuan.

The city is targeting the production of 20,000 electric cars in 2012, with 25,000 charging poles and nearly 50 charging stations, in cooperation with State Grid Corp.
To attract consumers to new-energy vehicles and get a jump on the market, all of the city's major auto makers, including SAIC and its ventures with GM and Volkswagen, are trying to accelerate development of new green models.
 

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