Government responsibility

Many industry leaders have already called on the government to do more to boost green cars.

Li Weidou, president of China FAW Group Import and Export Corporation, has said creating a viable market for emissions-free vehicles should be a government priority.

"I hope the government will help boost demand for green cars, because this is good technology, even if it's expensive compared to conventional cars," he said.

Guo Zhenfu also called on the government to support Chinese automakers. "Chinese companies are almost as good as foreign ones in this field. The gap is very narrow. And in some technologies Chinese companies have taken the lead," he said.

Professor He Jiankun from Tsinghua pointed out high production price, nation-wide facility construction and technologies like battery and charging are three main problems that should be resolved.

So far, the government has been offering generous subsidies for green car buyers. According to Shanghai Securities News, buyers can receive maximum subsidies of about 50,000 yuan (US$7,300) for plug-in hybrids and 60,000 yuan (US$8,800) for fully electric vehicles.

"These policies are efficient to lower the production price," Professor He said. "But the final solution should be the improvement of new technologies and large-scale application."

He has another idea for the government to promote green vehicles in the meantime.

He thinks the government should implement a green public transportation priority plan.

"Since nationwide facility construction is costly and time-consuming, governments at all levels should ‘green' public transportation first, such as buses, taxis, shuttles and so forth," he said. "It's easy to deploy and the cost is controllable."