2015年CRI Response to Government Push for New Energy Vehicles not Encouraging

 

The government hopes that incentives¹ can help alleviate² Beijing's worsening air pollution -- a significant part of which is blamed on motor vehicles.

But most potential car buyers think the new energy vehicles – predominantly battery driven ones -- may not bring about the convenience they want, at least not at present.

"It takes more than 100 thousand yuan with government subsidies³ to purchase an electric vehicle, limited to just about a 100-kilometre range. This is definitely not cost-effective in a big city like Beijing."

Many say the short battery life and a lack of charging facilities are hindering consumer appetites for the use of electric vehicles.

Zuo Shiquan, an official from China Center for Information Industry Development, believes it may take a while for people to accept new energy vehicles. And it would be more effective if guiding policies were adopted in a gradual manner.

As for government subsidies, he suggests any manufacturer should be entitled to them as long as they can develop products that raise energy efficiency by a designated margin⁴, and not necessarily only for electric vehicles.

"Because of government subsidies, many car makers⁵ have rushed to manufacture electric vehicles. But only a very limited number of car makers can produce up-to-standard electric vehicles."

Experts also worry that the incentives could worsen Beijing's traffic jams, another factor that compromises quality of life in Beijing.

Vehicle-related policies over the past years have reportedly resulted in an explosive increase of cars on the road.

Ma Jun, Director of Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs says lessons should be learned from policy failures.

"The problem is that these electric cars are not to replace the cars already on the road. Without being subject to the lottery⁶ system for car registration⁷, electric cars will add to the number of vehicles on the road, and therefore make traffic jams in Beijing even worse."

And given the fact that the policy-favored new energy vehicles seem to be limited only to battery driven cars, Ma says solutions for battery pollution must be put in place.

"We should not postpone⁸ the solution of these problems. Otherwise we may once again face an awkward situation. The batteries of electric cars are very likely to cause environmental issues. And it will be very costly⁹ to solve these problems."

Experts warn that given the size of Beijing – which is home to more than 23 million people – and the intertwining nature of modern city life, any public policies would have magnifying effects in multi-sectors. Therefore they should be worked out as part of overall smart city planning strategies.

1 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

3 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。