Editor's note: China's plan to promote ethanol-powered vehicles and electric cars will not only reduce air pollution but also have a far-reaching impact on the auto industry, both at home and abroad.
A move to adjust energy structure
Shuai Shijin, a professor in the Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University
The National Development and Reform Commission and other 14 ministerial-level departments issued a document recently saying gas mixed with ethanol will be used to fuel vehicles across China by 2020.
Almost simultaneously, the vice-minister of Industry and Information Technology said China is planning to ban gasoline-and diesel-powered cars and replace them with electric vehicles or new energy vehicles in the future. New energy vehicles here mean electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, which have been welcomed by people around the world.
The two announcements show the government's determination to make the auto industry as environmentally friendly as possible.
The gas-ethanol mix is being used to fuel cars in many cities of North China since 2006. Now, the new government plan will make it easier to clear the old stocks of grains, because mostly such grains are used to make ethanol.
The plan has a long-term goal, as ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is high in oxygen content and thus highly combustible, and if used to fuel cars, it could reduce their carbon emissions.
Fuel consumption will not increase
Wu Ye, a professor at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University
It's a misunderstanding that ethanol-powered cars consume more energy. In the past two years our laboratory has tested 10 vehicles more than 100 times, and our conclusion has been the same as that of authoritative U.S. institutions that tested 16 vehicles: E10, or a 90:10 gas-ethanol mix, and ordinary gasoline have almost the same energy efficiency.
To make the gas-ethanol mix conform to the national V and VI emission standard for pure gasoline, the ethanol component has to be adjusted. So consumers don't need to worry about spending more on fuel once ethanol-powered vehicles fill the market.
Several challenges need to be tackled
Liu Shaoshan, chairman& co-founder of Perceptin Corporate
New energy vehicles are not popular among consumers because the existing technology is not mature enough to increase the life of the car batteries or make them affordable, which makes long-term maintenance of a battery very expensive.
The other big problem with new energy vehicles is the critical shortage of charging stations or points in first-tier cities, which the authorities need to address first.
To tackle such challenges, the authorities need to continue the existing preferential policy for new energy vehicles, or even expand it to provide subsidies not only for car buyers, but also for those buying replacement batteries and companies that install charging points.
Besides, the government should make efforts to educate future buyers, by including information on new energy vehicles in school textbooks, so that people know the benefits of such vehicles and the importance of environmental protection from an early age, and develop a preference for such vehicles when they grow up.
Moreover, the government departments' push for ethanolgas mix is not contradictory to the principle of promoting new energy vehicles, because it will help reduce the use of fossil fuel and cut emissions in the transitory period before new energy vehicles become a way of life.
More foreign capital could help industry
Zhang Xu, a senior analyst with Analysis Corporate, a data analytics company
Unlike the case of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, China stands at the same starting line with developed economies in terms of research and development in new energy vehicles. So, for a change, China has a chance of overtaking the advanced economies in this area.
To begin with, China could take advantage of foreign manufacturers' branding to explore the global market. And the flow of more foreign capital into the country could help local manufacturers reshape their core competitiveness and branding. And by boosting R&D in new energy vehicles, China will also fulfill its environmental protection responsibility.
