10 million parking bays for electric cars

The supporters of electric cars often cite the lack of widespread re-charging facilities as one of the reasons the technology has been slow to evolve, but Chinese government, which is seeking to reduce its dependence on oil imports and reduce its emissions from transport, is considering tackling the issue of infrastructure by building 10 million electric car parking bays by 2020.

News agency Reuters quotes the president of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC) as saying: “The government is working on a plan — and I think it will be announced very, very soon — and is basically calling for having, in 10 years, electric car parks of 10 million (bays) or above,”

The Chinese government expects the country’s annual production of electric cars to reach one million units by 2020.

Electric car charging in Britain

As part of the Plugged-In Places scheme, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will provide over 4,000 charging points using a shared government funding pot of £20 million.

London narrowly missed out on the opportunity of subsidised charging points when the Olympic committee rejected Nissan’s bid to supply the official cars for the event. The company would have supplied 2,000 Nissan LEAF electric cars and as part of the deal, electricity supplier EDF would have helped install charging points across the capital. An offer of £40m in sponsorship secured the deal for BMW.