Cleaner energies has been an issue in China which seems to receive nearly full amounts of support within the Chinese government. Subsidies concerning the purchase of electric cars has prompted people to purchase more and more cars but costs of batteries and lack of charge stations seem to work against the goal of reducing carbon emissions from cars in China. The government may want to think about tackling these issues simultaneously to further subsidizing electric car ownership. Accessibility to charging statiions and better technology concerning batteries must be part of an greener future, and despite large amounts of cars in cities still being gas powered, the entire scope and reasons behind low levels cars must be paramount to sustaining a clean future.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/byd-subsidies-idUSL3N0CH19F20130325
This is an example of a poorly-planned incentive. Coupled with a subsidy for building charge stations and for cleaner batteries, the policy may be more effective.
I agree, China needs to improve its infrastructure and build many charging stations in strategically placed locations before this policy will become effective. If electric cars don’t have enough places where they can charge up, then their usability will be greatly inhibited compared to gas cars. Until charging stations are common, there will be few incentives to use electric cars.
The U.S. faces a similar problem in trying to figure out how best to place charging stations in public and private places. Many employers and lot owners have spots specifically for electric cars though not many. However, the solution seems to be installing a charging station at your own home, which of course costs the customer more, especially when you have no place to put a charging station in your garage.
China on the other hand seems to be in a better position to tackle such issues. Many cities in China are not only growing rapidly, but some of the old cities are also changing rapidly (Beijing is constantly building new infrastructure). As a result, cities in China could easily install charging stations as their cities develop, so I don’t think this is a huge issue, especially considering that China still aims to make investments in infrastructure and green energies (a win a win in the case of electric car charging stations). The U.S. conversely is not making any attempt to update infrastructure. Comparatively speaking, it seems that China has a greener future ahead. (Sorry for the pun)