(Bloomberg) -- From Tesla chargers in the ancient alleys that surround the Forbidden City in Beijing to lonely highway rest stops with charging posts in the western deserts, signs of the electrification of China’s transport fleet — and the demise of gasoline — are everywhere.Most Read from BloombergIn Traffic-Weary Toronto, a Battle Breaks Out Over Bike LanesIn Italy’s Motor City, Car-Free Options Are GrowingNew York City’s ‘Living Breakwaters’ Brace for Stormier SeasNow, according to official s
  • BlackLaZoR@fedia.io
    1·
    13 days ago

    China’s sales of electric vehicles and hybrids have in fact reached a tipping point. They’ve accounted for more than half of retail passenger vehicle sales

    If you have cheap electricity and cheap batteries, people will buy EVs. Colour me surprised.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      12 days ago

      If you have cheap electricity and cheap batteries, people will buy EVs. Colour me surprised.

      Cheap EVs is part of it, and that part is subsidies from the government, but China has also increase the registration cost of pure ICE vehicles. Yeah, you can still buy them, but they’ll cost you a lot of extra money to register them to be legal to drive on the roads in China. On top of this, in major congestion areas, you have to get entered in a lottery to even get a license plate (ability to register a car). The government in China continues to reduce the number of ICE license plates available, and increases EV license plates. (source)

      So its a lot more than just “cheap electricity and cheap batteries” in action in China causing this massive switch to EVs.