NEV clusters to highlight crucial drive for green development

The Hainan government is making concerted efforts to promote the development of new energy vehicles, a landmark industry in the building of a national ecological civilization pilot zone, a strategy envisaged by the central government for the southern island province in 2018, according to the local authorities.

Addressing the third World New Energy Vehicle Conference held on Sept 16 in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan province, a senior provincial government leader said Hainan will use the opportunity of holding the international NEV event to speed up the construction of a global demonstration area for NEV promotion, cultivating an advanced manufacturing cluster for NEVs and a smart green travel ecosystem, and turning the tropical island into a clean energy island.

As of August, the number of new NEVs had exceeded 91,000 in Hainan, accounting for 5.6 percent of the vehicles in the province, 1.7 times higher than the national average. Hainan has basically made it a reality that all new official-use vehicles, buses and taxis are fueled by clean energy, the provincial leader said.

In March 2019, the Hainan government issued a plan for clean-energy vehicle development, proposing that all public service vehicles be fueled by green energy in 2020.

Clean-energy vehicles will be promoted on a large scale in nonpublic transportation services starting from 2025. By 2030, fuel vehicles will be banned across the whole island.

The plan said that by 2025, Hainan will complete the installation of 260,000 electric charging piles for NEVs.

The move makes Hainan the first province in China to set a date for the total elimination of gasoline powered vehicles.

To promote growth of the NEV industry, the Hainan provincial government will enact eight projects across the island:

· A demonstration area for NEV promotion will be built. Hainan will make good use of its geographical, climate and policy advantages to ensure that various new NEVs and related businesses are fully supported in all fields and all venues.

· A global high-end conference platform for NEVs will be created. The annual world NEV conference, launched in Hainan in 2019, will further grow into an important platform to gather global resources and wisdom in the new energy vehicle industry.

· A fully open tourism highway for the testing of intelligently networked vehicles will be built. Hainan will link 40 tourist destinations via a 999-kilometer island tourism highway loop that is currently under construction, to provide a convenient experience with driverless vehicles for tourists.

· A national intelligently networked vehicle testing center will be built for vehicle inspection and technological certification.

· A national vehicle networking pilot area will be built in Boao, the permanent venue of the Boao Forum for Asia on the eastern coast of Hainan. It will highlight smart transportation and smart energy to help transform and upgrade transportation in Hainan.

· A world-class NEV experience center will be built, integrating exhibition, marketing, research, competition, conference and tourism businesses. Its aim is to attract the world's top NEV brands and build an upscale vehicle service industry gathering area that highlights NEV upmarket tourism consumption and experience, creative design and car racing.

· An advanced NEV manufacturing cluster will be built. It will promote the in-depth integration of tourism in Hainan and serve as a catalyst to build factories for high-end made-to-order NEVs.

· A free and convenient green travel ecosystem will be created. Hainan will continuously improve policy guidance and support, making good use of the zero tariff policies for the import of vehicles and yachts at Hainan Free Trade Port to attract global NEV brands, and form a green transportation service industry chain.