China slashes taxes on green autos

But the city government's move will likely raise the cost of using new-energy cars, which would influence potential buyers of such cars.

"Plug-in hybrid cars will be better than pure electric cars if charging prices for electric cars are linked with gasoline prices", said Zheng Zheng, 42, a resident of Beijing.

Zheng, who said he has been following news about the new-energy car industry for more than a year, is considering buying a second car for short distance trips in the city. But he said he won't buy one now because of his concerns over a new-energy car's range and charging infrastructure.

"Charging is not convenient and takes a long time. The range of electric cars is also short. And the car itself is normally more expensive than ones that run on gasoline. So I think a car that uses gas is more convenient, and plug-in hybrids are more practical than pure electric ones," Zheng said.

Emerging market

With growing awareness of environmental protection and the need for sustainable growth, green travel is becoming a trend in China.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 9,060 new-energy vehicles were produced in China in April, up one and a half times year-on-year.

Through the first four months of the year, new-energy vehicle production in China reached 34,400 units, almost three times the same period last year. Among those, 15,900 pure electric passenger cars were produced, followed by 8,780 plug-in hybrid passenger cars and 6,416 pure electric commercial vehicles－five times the amount from the previous year. More than 3,300 plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles were produced, up 70 percent year-on-year.

The Chinese government and its policymakers are making a series of preferential policies to encourage people to use electric cars.

In 2012, the State Council set an ambitious goal of getting 500,000 new-energy cars on the nation's roads by the end of this year, and 5 million new-energy vehicles by 2020.

Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sees a bright future in the sector.

"Barring accidents, I believe China's new-energy vehicle market will surpass the United States to become the world's largest this year."

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