Beijing plans to deploy another 6,000 electric cars for government use this year amid the city's efforts to curb air pollution.

It follows the adoption of 1,300 electric cars for governmental leases last year, according to Xu Heyi, chairman of the board of directors of BAIC Motor Corp. The total fleet of 7,300 cars will provide services for 91 ministries and departments of the central government and 180 departments of the Beijing municipal government, Xu said.

Nationwide reform of government-owned vehicles has largely focused on subsidizing officials and boosting the transparency of transportation expenses, but Xu said Beijing was focusing on replacing government-owned cars with timeshare car rentals.

Electric cars emit far fewer pollutants than gasoline-powered cars. Since the beginning of last year, the central government has operated 230 electric cars, with each being driven for an average of 12,400 kilometers - saving 1,200 liters of gasoline and reducing carbon emissions by 2,770 kilograms, according to the National Government Offices Administration of the State Council.

To further encourage use, BAIC is rolling out a service whereby officials from the Beijing municipal government and some of the ministries and departments of the State Council can rent an electric car from near their office building to carry out their duties. The car can then be returned to another location and the user pays electronically.

As recharging is an unavoidable issue for electric cars, Xu said charging stations were being installed inside or near government buildings.

"For example, you can return the car when you get to your meeting. After the meeting, you can rent another car to go back. In this way, the car rental can be easily accepted and operated," Xu said.

As of March 3, BAIC had installed more than 3,000 charging stations for governmental use. In the downtown area, officials of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision can use a swipe card to rent an electric car for business purposes.

Sun Lijun, professor of transportation at Tongji University in Shanghai, welcomed the initiative as it could encourage local governments to procure or rent new-energy vehicles for business trips as well.

"Therefore, Beijing's electric car trial may help national reform of government-owned vehicles and reduce air pollution as well," Sun said.

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(China Daily 03/31/2016 page7)