China invests $1.3b in new-energy cars

Zhang Zhihong, deputy director of the high technology department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, has been quoted as saying China’s cumulative investment in new-energy cars has topped RMB8.5 billion (US$1.3 billion).

Zhang noted that the ministry has invested RMB2 billion (US$300.8 million) in new-energy cars during the 11th Five-Year Plan economic period, which began in 2006 and ends this year. On a global level this is not major investment; in September, Renault-Nissan alone invested RMB35.5 billion (US$5.3 billion) in electric cars.

However, McKinsey & Company asserts that China’s new-energy auto industry is as advanced as other car-producing countries.

CapitalVue News notes that these figures do not apply to traditional cars. Car sales in China grew 34.76% year-on-year to 14.68 million units in the first ten months of 2010. Auto sales and production volume are both expected to top 17 million units this year.