China city to switch public transport to green vehicles

Environmentally-friendly vehicles in Chengdu, China. [Photo/IC Chengdu Economic Daily]

Northeast China's port city of Dalian will switch its buses and ride-hailing cars in urban areas to environmentally-friendly vehicles in the next few years.

Local public transport operators will replace all gasoline-powered vehicles running in its four urban districts with new energy vehicles (NEVs) by 2020, the city government said Monday.

In other parts of the city, NEVs should account for at least 10 percent of the bus fleet by 2020. Starting 2020, at least half of the newly-purchased buses should be NEVs.

Also from 2020, all newly-purchased taxis in the four districts should be new energy or clean energy vehicles, and those which newly join ride-hailing services should be NEVs. By 2025, all ride-hailing vehicles should be NEVs, the city government said.

The government also said it would speed up the construction of hydrogen fueling stations and electric vehicle charging networks.

China has encouraged the use of NEVs to ease pressure on the environment by offering tax exemptions and purchase subsidies. The country has remained the world's largest NEV market for three consecutive years, with some 777,000 NEVs sold in 2017 alone.