Shengyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning province is working on creating a favorable environment for new-energy vehicles through a large government promotion, with the goal of having 10,000 of these cars on the road by the end of 2020, according to Shenyang Daily of Nov 17.

Artist rendering of electric car charging. [Photo/Shenyang Daily]

The problem is that, today, most new-energy vehicles are public buses or police cars, and seldom used by individuals, so, the government is using policies to encourage their wider use for public services, such as rentals or postal work, while providing subsidies for private car owners to encourage the industry citywide.

The city is also speeding up work on infrastructure, with the idea of providing 120 charging stations and 7,200 charging piles by the end of 2020. It is estimated that, with 10,000 new-energy cars on the road by 2020, about 200 tons of carbon emissions could be removed annually and transportation costs will drop.