Companies have responded positively to the government’s electric car pilot project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Two consortiums have filed applications for ministry grants, and two more will do so before the end of this month, said Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧), director of the metal and mechanical industries division of the Industrial Development Bureau.
Yulon Tobe Motor Co (裕隆酷比汽車) and Carplus Auto Leasing Co (格上租車) are joining hands in filing an application this month. They plan to have 100 electric cars available for leasing in Taipei, Chiou told a press briefing to update the media on the project.
The consortium is applying for the government grant to cover its pilot run project, which will cost more than NT$100 million (US$3.4 million).
The price tag of an electric auto will be around NT$1 million, he said.
In April last year, the government approved a plan to inject at least NT$9.7 billion over six years to help Taiwanese firms secure a place in the burgeoning worldwide electric car market.
It includes a three-year, pilot-run phase, in which the government hopes the private sector will have 3,000 green cars running in Taiwan.
THI Consultants Inc (鼎漢), a transportation and planning consulting firm, is also applying for a grant from the ministry. The company plans to work with municipal government agencies to introduce electric cars to tourists in Sun Moon Lake.
The plan could help alleviate traffic congestion at the popular Taichung tourist spot, especially during weekends, Chiou said.
The other two consortiums that have already joined the pilot run scheme are New Taipei City (新北市), which is working with Yulon Group (裕隆集團) in test running Luxgen cars in Pinglin Township (坪林); as well as Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which has chosen Taichung as its trial zone.
The ministry also announced that it was on track to meet its target of having 19,000 electric scooters running in Taiwan by the end of the year.
The ministry granted subsidies to 669 buyers of electric scooters for the first two months of this year. It subsidized 3,051 such purchases last year, more than its initial goal of 2,500, it said.
The ministry has been giving a cash rebate of either NT$8,000 or NT$11,000 for green motorcycle buyers since 2009 to encourage their mass adoption.
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