The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government have jointly issued a license for "Beijing Alternative Energy Automobile Design and Manufacturing Base" to the Beiqi Futian Vehicle Company.
This is the first new energy automobile base to be set up in Beijing since the alternative energy automobile strategy was launched in 2006.
With a total construction area of 300,000 square meters and an investment of up to CNY5 billion, the Beijing Alternative Energy Automobile Base has an annual production capacity of 5,000 new energy powered cars and 400,000 energy saving engines. The base will consist of four core design and manufacturing centers: hybrid-drive, electromotive, hydrogen power, and high efficiency energy saving engines, the technology will be used on Futian's buses, MPVs, and trucks.
Wan Gang, the minister of MOST, disclosed that MOST and the Ministry of Finance will offer support and incentives to for new energy vehicles and MOST has decided to promote more than 30,000 energy saving and alternative energy powered vehicles in such fields as public transport, taxi and postal services, of these more than 1,000 are expected to be on the streets of Beijing in 2009.
In addition, Futian has signed a purchase deal with the Beijing Public Transportation Group, involving about 800 hybrid drive buses and chassis. This is said to be the largest deal ever made in the alternative energy vehicle field in China.