The government yesterday unveiled its six-year plan to promote the electric car industry in two phases, with a projected total investment of NT$9.7 billion (US$294 million).
“The government will take the lead in fueling the uptake in the initial phase, which is usually the most difficult period,” Woody Duh (杜紫軍), director-general of the Industrial Development Bureau, told a press conference.
The first phase starts this year through 2013, with the government setting up the infrastructure, such as electric-battery refueling stations and 10 trial zones across the country. A total of 3,000 electric cars are expected to hit the road during this period.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Electric cars may also be exempted from a commodity tax for three years, if a proposed amendment passes its third reading at the legislature by June, Duh said, adding that county and city governments are also encouraged to cancel license fees.
For the second phase, the government will give out cash rebates to stimulate purchases, but the size of the subsidy would “depend on the outcome of trial operations and the government’s financial status at the time,” Duh said.
By 2016, the government aims to have local automakers producing more than 60,000 green automobiles, including 15,000 for export, Duh said.
“We aim to help Taiwanese automakers become one of the world’s top 10 electric car brands by then,” Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said.
Lin rebuffed newspaper reports yesterday that the government was pushing only electric cars while ditching the adoption of electric motorcycles.
“Motorcycles are the most affordable vehicle for the public,” Duh said, adding that the Executive Yuan approved a plan to promote electric bikes in August last year.
The commodity tax for electric bikes has been slashed by half, and the government is subsidizing buyers cash rebates from NT$8,000 to NT$11,000 per bike up to 2012.
The government aims to have 160,000 electric bikes on the road by 2012, Lin said.
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