[jmsteiny]

In my view, there is also something else that hinders the EV/hybrid market in China - LACK OF AWARENESS. The average chinese consumer simply doesn't seem to be AWARE of the seriousness of global warming. There is little in the way of advertisements or even public service announcements regarding energy conservation - people here will still run the air conditioners with a window OPEN just to get some "fresh" air!! Multiply that all over the country in the middle of the summer......anyone want to take a guess HOW MUCH energy is wasted? Another thing.......although it IS beautiful to see the colorful skylines of Shanghai, Shenzhen and even Nanning now (with all the colored lights all over the builidings - reminds me of Las Vegas) - it IS EXTREMELY wasteful when it comes to energy. People here simply DO NOT understand how important and critical it is to reduce energy usage NOW and help save the planet. They ARE catching on, but VERY slowly - TOO slowly in my opinion. The government here NEEDS to make public awareness of this a MAJOR priority - along with awareness on the importance of EV and hybrid vehicles. Unfortunately, it's going to take time - many provinces still can't decide on the legality of electric bikes and scooters, let alone EV/hybrids! It IS encouraging to know that several of the big chinese auto companies are going ahead and selling hybrids NOW - Chery will have the A5 and the A1 hybrids on sale this year, BYD will start selling the F6DM and Geely will (I assume) be selling some kind of hybrid this year as well. These companies are planning for the FUTURE - and I think they will be glad they did. These companies have already stated their firm commitment to EV/hybrids - in fact Chery has said that they want FIFTY percent of their annual sales to be hybrid/EV based by 2011. Lofty? Yes - but admirable. Let's hope that these models (and others as well) will FINALLY help to promote widespread awareness about global warming and energy conservation here in China. I'm doing my part - I am showing anyone I can the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and I have decided to NOT buy a car until I have the option of at least buying a chinese made hybrid car (the Prius and Civic hybrids are WAY too expensive). I also ride a electric scooter for my local shopping, eliminating the need to use taxis so much - and I have several of my friends here doing the same thing. WE (I'm talking about all of us around the planet) have to start doing these kinds of things NOW, and WE all need to make a effort to reduce our carbon footprint - I know I'm just taking little steps to reduce mine but it's still better than nothing. If WE can all take little steps, they add up to BIG steps - and it CAN make a difference.

 

[jmsteiny]

IN my opinion, China will have the clear advantage here - why? Simple.....China's economy is not nearly as dependent on big oil companies as America is. America's auto industry is so entrenched in combustion engine technology that it will take some time to wean itself away from it - not to mention powerful oil company lobbyists in Washington D.C. fighting this all the way (trying to retain as much money and profit as they can obviously). China, on the other hand has a fairly "new" auto industry in comparison - one that is not so entrenched in any particular technology but developing MANY different kinds of concepts simultaneously. We're seeing pure electric vehicles, hybrids, hydrogen combustion engines and others being developed all at the same time - with little or no interference from the chinese oil industry. Add to this the support that the chinese government is showing the auto companies for green technology and it adds up to a clear advantage for China. It IS refreshing to see the Obama administration earmarking a SIGNIFICANT amount of money to developing green technology - but we won't see the results of this for 4-5 years......by that time companies like BYD, Chery, Geely, SAIC, Changan and others will ALL have hybrid/electric cars on the roads in China in mass and available to the individual consumer. BYD in particular will have several hybrid/electric models on american roads as well, and I don't know if the american auto industry can respond that fast to build something that can compete with the F3DM or the E6. Is the american auto industry doomed? No......but it better be ready for some intense competition when it comes to hybrid/electric technology. :nod: