Carlos Ghosn: China, We Need You!
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Originally published on EV Obsession.
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is one of the biggest champions of electric cars in the world today. Renault and Nissan together have already sold over 100,000 electric cars. He’s also been one of the most bullish believers in the future of electric cars. But no matter their benefits in the Western world, Ghosn recently revealed that China is indeed the key to the future of the industry.
Speaking at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show, Ghosn noted that “the explosion of the electric car” would come once China made a strong move in their direction.
Stephen Edelstein of Green Car Reports, however, notes that the EV road in China has been a bit… rocky:
A vast fleet of electric cars is one of the main goals of the Chinese government’s “new energy vehicle” policy, although how it will actually boost sales remains a bit of a mystery.
“New energy vehicle” originally meant electric cars, but the government revised the standard in 2011, shifting the focus to hybrids and other technologies that could potentially boost fuel efficiency.
At the time, the Chinese government set a goal of having one million new energy vehicles on the road by 2015. The bar was lowered to 500,000 vehicles in a revised version of the policy released last year.
Just recently, it added new incentives on electric cars while largely ignoring hybrids.
It’s only a matter of time, imho. Electric cars are simply much more efficient, more fun and comfortable to drive, and obviously much cleaner. It’s just a matter of time. Let’s just hope that, for the sake of a livable climate and the humans and other creatures that rely on it, the shift happens faster than projected.
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