500 electric taxis will hit Beijing's roads in 2010

Beijing's new energy automobile industry, and in particular the electric automobile industry, will make a big leap forward in development between 2009 and 2011, making Beijing a leading global electric automobile research and development (R&D) center. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology (BMCEIT) and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform jointly released stimulus plans for five major industries including the automobile industry on the morning of November 20. According to the plan for the automobile industry, 500 electric taxis will hit Beijing's roads by the end of 2010, as part of a demonstration project.

500 electric taxis will hit Beijing's roads in 2010

A senior official from the BMCEIT said that the development of Beijing's electric automobile industry will focus on buses and sanitation vehicles. A pilot electric sanitation automobile project is currently being carried out in Xicheng District, and the vehicles' low-noise, pollution-free features have effectively improved the working environment of sanitation workers.

According to the specific adjustment and stimulus plan for the automobile industry released on November 20, Beijing's automobile industry output will have an annual growth rate of over 15 percent between 2009 and 2010, with an optimum target of 20 percent growth. The industry's output value is expected to reach between 160 and 180 billion yuan in 2010, and its added value will account for 10 percent of Beijing's total industrial output or 2.5 percent of the city's total economic output.

The adjustment and stimulus plans released on November 20 also covered four other industries – urban-oriented industries, biological medicine, equipment manufacturing and new energy. The main business revenue of Beijing's urban industry will reach 150 billion yuan in 2011, with over 80 percent coming from four sub-industries - food and beverage, apparel and textiles, printing and packing, and arts and crafts. Meanwhile, efforts should be made to foster the development of independent brands and to develop five conglomerates with over 10-billion-yuan in business revenue.

The Beijing municipal adjustment and stimulus plan for the biological and medical industry specifies that the industry should become one of the most important R&D centers, high-end manufacturing bases and marketing centers in the world. The industry hopes to realize an annual growth rate target of over 18 percent, 52 billion yuan in total industrial output in 2011 and 63 billion yuan in medical sales revenue. The total economic output of the industry is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan in 2015.

The output value of Beijing's equipment manufacturing industry overtook that of its electronic and information industry for the first time in 2008, becoming a key industry sustaining the city's industrial development. Given the development foundation of the industry, Beijing required that its equipment manufacturing industry adhere to a "high-end, clear and intelligent" development strategy to strengthen the development of six special sub-industries such as numerical control machines, new energy equipment and rail transport equipment. The added value of the equipment manufacturing industry will reach 50 billion yuan in 2011, making Beijing a high-end R&D and manufacturing base.

At present, Beijing's new energy industry is still in the nurturing stage. To promote the development of the industry, Beijing has conducted multiple investigations into new energy automobiles and held special seminars stimulating new energy development. Beijing's new energy industry's total sales revenue target is 50 billion yuan for 2011. To meet the target, Beijing will improve policies and assurance systems in ways such as perfecting policy systems, intensifying support, supporting independent innovation and introducing high-end industries. Meanwhile, Beijing will concentrate on its advantages in educational and scentific resources to promote further breakthroughs in R&D and high-end manufacturing, taking the lead across the country in terms of new energy development.

Translated by LOTO