Study Of The Development Of Electric Vehicles In Mainland China

Developing’ electric vehicles present a valuable opportunity for China to reduce its dependence on oil imports, improve local air quality, and develop indigenous innovation, and understanding the comparative costs of electric and internal combustion vehicles is important in paving the way for EVs. This paper uses environmental and energy economic to research which cities in China are most favorable for investing in electric vehicle fleets. In the case study in the fourth chapter, the author analyzes the context for using electric vehicles in China, the business situation of Jiangnan Taxi Division, and the benefits that a car rental company can obtain from using electric vehicles, with opportunities in the Beijing car rental market as an example. The author believes the criteria for determining whether a city or region will jump into using electric vehicles include oil and natural gas imports, local air conditions, and the sources of electricity generation. According to these criteria, all large Chinese cities can benefit from moves to adopt electric vehicles, especially in every southern province, because the carbon footprint of these areas is already lower than provinces elsewhere in China. On the other hand, because the electrical grid in the north is relatively carbon-heavy, using electric vehicles there can act as an incentive to clean up the grid. This thesis only considers fleet vehicles, such as taxis and rental vehicles, which are different from privately-owned vehicles. Fleets are better able to benefit from using, and on top of that, public and government bodies are able to respond to new policies fasters than individuals. Through the case study in this thesis in which the writer analyzed a taxi company and car rental company, it was evident that over the long-term it is possible to generate a profit from using electric vehicles.