By 2016, the Chinese government are to have 30% of their overall vehicle purchases electric or "new energy".
It follows the announcement that new electric vehicles in China are to be purchase-tax free. This tax is 10% of the vehicle's value, and a reasonable saving for buyers.
As a result of the announcement, share prices for car manufacturers with existing electric models such as car-maker BYD have spiked by over 3%.
China have roughly 70,000 electric or "new energy" vehicles in use currently, far short of their target for five million "new energy" vehicles by 2020. The benefits of moving to energy efficiency would be massive for China, with smog alleviation being amongst the more visible improvements, if targets are met.
