Automakers to regulators: What's the clean fuel deal?
- Source: Global Times
- [02:04 April 26 2010]
- Comments
Toyota's FT-EV II. Photos: Chen Xiaomin
By Cong Mu
Leading automobile engineers from China and abroad urged for a clear and predictable policy in the short- to medium-term on clean energy vehicle development in the country at a forum held in Beijing Saturday.
While the government is planning for the long-run, the industry experts said their companies are focused on near-term commercial feasibility, and without concrete and clear guidance on new energy development for autos, they are adverse to venturing into a risky new business.
Li Jun, vice chief engineer of China FAW Group, said the costs for developing electric passenger vehicles, which is a key part of the government's plan, is prohibitive for companies. According to Li, currently, a sedan weighing 1,250 kilograms requires batteries worth 96,000 yuan ($14,100) to keep running for over 100 kilometers on one charge. That is almost equal to the retail sales price of such a car on the market.
FAW said Friday that it plans to put hybrid power and electric cars on the market on a small scale by October.
Ray Shemanski, CEO of US-based auto battery company Johnson Controls-Saft, said the firm is striving to reduce battery costs from about $900 per kilowatt-hour to $200 in 5-10 years, though that may still sound too far away for some Chinese automakers, such as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Zhao Fuquan, Geely's vice president of technology, said that as a private and small automaker, it does not care so much about reducing a car's carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent in 10 years as much as it cares about how it can immediately cut emissions by 5-10 percent.
Geely is showcasing six types of new energy vehicles at the ongoing Beijing Auto Show, because, as Zhao said, the company is not quite sure which type will win over consumers, so it has diversified to mitigate risks.
Technology transfer, or the lack of it, has also obstructed the necessary structural shift in the sector. The World Bank Group said in a report that developed countries should provide financing and transfer low-carbon technologies to help developing countries reduce emissions.
However, Debbie Stabenow, a US Senator representing the state of Michigan, said US companies are wary of doing so because of the lack of intel-lectual property rights protection in China.
Most forum participants agreed that, in the next 3-5 years, the automakers are likely to take a conservative approach toward technological progress, focusing on less radical advances, such as enhancing efficiency of conventional engines and reducing vehicle weight.
In its Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2010-2015) China outlined an unbinding clean vehicle development roadmap, involving three phases from 2008 to 2020, but as Li of FAW pointed out, unlike in the EU, the plan includes no emission abatement target in terms of grams of carbon dioxide per unit.
Ouyang Minggao, director of the National Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, said that according to a forecast by Tsinghua University, Chinese car ownership will reach about 200 million units in 2020, which would translate to oil consumption of 600 million tons a year.
