BEIJING: The heavy smog shrouding Beijing is proving to be a boon for China's nascent electric car market, with some dealers saying inquiries about all-electric models are up by almost a tenth.
Beijing issued a first pollution "red alert" on Monday, and set out measures to combat the hazardous smog, including limiting the use of conventional petrol-powered and hybrid cars to alternate days.
But all-electric vehicles are free to drive in the capital at any time. And that's prompted a rush of inquiries from would-be buyers, dealers and automakers say.
"I'm considering (an electric car) as the new policy means electric cars aren't limited from driving on heavy pollution days while other types are," said Wang Chao, 26, sizing up electric vehicles at a BYD Co Ltd dealership on Wednesday.
Wang, who runs a Beijing food wholesale business, said the driving restrictions were yet another reason to think electric, noting the attraction also of government subsidies that would save him around 100,000 yuan (RM67,000) on a new electric model.
Those subsidies and other government measures have helped pure-electric car sales soar nearly five-fold to 113,810 nationwide in the first 10 months of the year, putting China on track to overtake the United States as the largest market for electric cars this year.
Automakers said it was too early to say if the increase in inquiries would translate into actual sales.
Worldwide electric cars sales are expected to increase to 600,000 this year, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers deputy secretary-general Xu Yanhua told an industry conference.
A recent study by Carnegie Mellon University found that a shift to electric cars in China might cause more air pollution because of the nation's emissions-intensive electricity grid.
Coal is responsible for around 75 percent of power generation in China, though the government has said it would cut power sector emissions by 60 percent by 2020.
