China is looking to steer the way in revolutionary energy-efficient technology and this year's Beijing Autoshow bears testimony to that. At the show, more than 12 percent of the cars featured were new energy models. Pure electric cars took the spotlight.
More than 1,000 new vehicles, showcasing the new development of new energy cars. the 2016 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition, showcasing new creations that are high in both quantity and quality.
147 new energy cars were unveiled at the exhibition, over 40 percent more than last year's show in Shanghai.
The exhibition didn't just feature household name Tesla, but also other car-makers hoping to overtake the Tesla name with their own e-cars.
"Hybrid power technology has been developed in Toyota since 2009. Sales have grown 30 times of it was initially promoted in the market. We have been strengthening our technology advantage step by step and will push forward through to more advanced new energy technology," said Li Hui, executive vice president of Toyota Guangzhou.
With the driving of multi-level policy, sales of e-cars in China outburst in 2015. Annual sales reach 330 thousand, taking up 40 percent of the global figure. In the first quarter of 2016, sales of new energy vehicles were double that of the same period last year.
China's new energy vehicle market has become the largest in the world, running in front of the US, Europe and Japan.
Industrial insiders say that future automobiles will be electric, intelligent and connected to the internet.
"We need to comply with the tendency more actively. Our target is until 2025, new energy cars will take up 30 percent of our total sales," said Xiang Xingchu, general manager of Jianghuai Automobile.
China wants to have an estimated five million electric vehicles on the road by 2020. And local brands have invested almost six billion U.S. dollars into new-energy vehicles over the past five years. The car manufacturers main aim for of the exhibition was to prove e-cars can be sexy, sporty and luxurious.
"We will promote four new types of cars, each of them will come with a e-version. Our first e-car will come out at the end of this year," said Chen Anning, president of Qoros.
The demand for better electric vehicles means big orders for auto suppliers, but there are some concerns. Compared with fuel-driven cars, the major hurdles in terms of electrification currently are the price of batteries and the range of batteries. More charging stations with greener electricity is required rather than just increasing sales numbers, to truly electrify the world.
