Batteries

Taiwan to vigorously develop electric vehicles

Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Hwang Jung-chiou said in a report at the Executive Yuan on the development of the industry that 10 operational projects will be launched in the coming three years under five development strategies to facilitate the development of the local electric car industry.

The government will allocate a total of NT$9.7 billion over six years to help speed up the development of electric cars, with the hope that Taiwan will have one or several of the top 10 electric car makers in the world by 2016. Electric vehicles are an irreversible trend amid growing environmental awareness, according to MOEA officials.

It also hopes that within six years, domestic sales of electric vehicles will have topped 45,000 units, with 15,000 exported units, they added.

In six years, the electric car manufacturing sector is envisioned to be worth NT$120 billion, while the relevant service sector will be worth NT$31.2 billion, they continued.

Combined, the electric car manufacturing and service sectors will create jobs for some 24,000 people in the same period, they concluded.

After hearing the reports, Premier Wu Den-yih exhorted the MOEA and other relevant agencies to cooperate closely to expedite the development of the industry.

"Your concerted efforts are needed to allow the local electric car industry to flourish, globalize and eventually make Taiwan a country with a low carbon footprint," he said.

By Chiachen Hsieh and Deborah Kuo, focustaiwan.tw