China aiming for 5 million electric cars on the roads by 2020

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The Chinese central government plans of getting 5 million pure electric cars on the road by 2020 seem far fetched when the subject is first talked of, but getting 5 million electric cars on the road in the next ten years is not an entirely difficult project at all.

In China’s latest 5 year plan, that will range from 2011 to 2015, the central government has announced that it will do whatever it takes to assist Chinese companies become the worlds leaders in electric car vehicles, which won’t help any joint venture auto manufacturers rest easy at night.

5 million cars over a ten year period works out to around 200,000 vehicles per year (given that 2010 is practically over, probably slightly more year) Chinese consumers are likely not to be suffering from range anxiety as with their suburban living Western consumers, but they are worried about buying a lemon that they cannot charge up conventionally and quickly, thus the government is stuck with a chicken and the egg scenario, Chinese consumers will not buy an electric car until the charging infrastructure is available to charge them, and companies will not install infrastructure until demand is available.

However, it appears that the central government has already offered to help out with a $17billion USD offer to assist local government and utility companies to design, produce, and install charging equipment, provincial and city government are expected to offer extra finances in a bid to become greener cities. Many cities have already offered subsidies on top of central government subsidies to buyers of electric cars in a bid to push electric cars into the mainstream.