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Leased electric cells power new bus - and business concept

By Zhang Ranran (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-19 08:55

With a growing public awareness of environmental protection, electric vehicles are trendy. Yet the high cost of their crucial power cell is still a drag on industry growth.

The power cell now costs almost half of the price for an entire electric vehicle, making mass commercialization difficult, industrial insiders say.

Bus maker Anhui Ankai based in the city of Hefei has come up with an option for new energy vehicles - selling plug-in buses, but leasing out the power cell.

According to the company, the leasing policy will help make the pricing of the pure electric passenger coaches equivalent to traditional fuel-powered vehicles.

Against the backdrop of increasing oil prices, leasing will enable bus buyers to further move toward electric vehicles, the company says.

With global economy beginning to recover and markets rebounding, crude oil prices are likely to continue to rise, said an official from Dalian-based bus operator Jiaoyun Group.

Renting the power cell makes the cost of driving Ankai's electric coach no more than the oil required to drive a similar-sized fuel-powered coach, he said.

The Dalian company has now ordered a batch of pure electric coaches from Ankai.

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More importantly, the leasing policy will allow Ankai to manage and reuse the cells, helping reach the goal of efficient use of resources.

As China is on the way to building a more eco-friendly and resource-efficient society, a variety of industries are moving in that direction.

At the same time, the economic stimulus package released by the central government last year included creation of new business opportunities for companies involved in green drive.

With estimated sales of more than 1.5 million units, electric vehicles will take up 5 to 10 percent of the nation's annual output by 2010, according to an industrial development report by Huangjing Shidian Research Center, a Chinese market data firm.

At a Sino-US electric vehicle forum held in September, David Sandalow, assistant US secretary of energy, said China will take the lead in global electric vehicle development if the US doesn't increase its research investment in electric vehicles.