Cleaner Greener China

The recent news that Warren Buffet has invested in battery maker BYD, and the news that BYD is going to launch it first car next month, are simply signs of things to come. There are solar cars, hybrid cars, new engines, and so on.

One of the more interesting exposes on China’s green fleet came earlier this month in Forbes (authored by Chris O’Brien).  In his article China’s Green Cars, and through his pictures, one will gain a much better sense of where this industry is going..

In Beijing, environmental officials are desperate to shift the toxic haze that lurks over the capital’s Second Ring Road but their task is rendered futile by the addition of 1,000 new cars to the city streets every day. And then there is the soaring demand for oil, which forced China to raise its crude oil imports by 12.3% in 2007.

and how unlike their American counterparts, the focus on green cars in China is a driving force for the government  who is looking to address these issues.

The Chinese government has responded by investing billions of yuan to commission domestic car manufacturers such as Chery and Changan Auto to develop hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles as part of its “863″ program, a project conceived in March 1986 to promote advanced technologies.

Through my work in China, it has become clear that where the period of 2000 to 2006 was marked by prmoting investment in the auto sector, and pushing sales, the government has made several corrections in course.  The first major one was to move buyers (as best they could) away from foreign automobiles.  It was an indication that the government was looking to support their manufacturers, and provide them with the cash flow needed to develop their global brands.

It is the investment in batteries and hybrid technologies that i began hearing about several years ago that excited me, and indicated that we were in for a second shift… to own the eco-cars of the future.