Shanghai mulls replacement of public-use vehicles with new-energy models

Shanghai is mulling plans to replace public-use and municipal vehicles with green-energy cars, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology on Wednesday.

Buses, taxis, postal vehicles and vehicles for sanitation and logistics, among other vehicle types, are recommended to be replaced by new-energy alternatives as part of the city's efforts to promote energy-efficient transportation, said Shi Wenjun, an official with the commission.

Meanwhile, Shanghai will build more charging stations for electric cars and accelerate the construction of hydrogen stations to facilitate the growth of new-energy cars.

In 2018, Shanghai recorded 73,724 new-energy car registrations, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier and making the city the world's leader in terms of new-energy car ownership.

Shanghai is expected to add more than 60,000 new-energy cars this year, the commission said.

The city’s output of new-energy cars rose 5.4 percent to 25.9 billion yuan (US$3.86 billion) in 2018. In the first two months, the output soared 50.2 percent year on year to 3.78 billion yuan.

To promote sales, SAIC Motor also launched a subsidy program for buyers of its green-energy vehicles. Those who purchase a Roewe or MG-branded car to replace their old vehicles can get subsidies of up to 15,000 yuan.