#262 China’s Electric Car Boom 中国电车

Hello everyone, welcome back to MaoMi Chinese. Today, we're going to talk about something that has become extremely popular in China over the past few years: electric cars.

If you haven't been to China for many years, you might notice something surprising when you go back: why are there so many electric cars on the roads?

In the past, most vehicles on Chinese roads were petrol cars. A petrol car is a car that runs on petrol. But nowadays, whether you're in a large city like Beijing or Shanghai, or in a smaller city, you'll see more and more electric cars everywhere.

So, why are there so many electric cars in China?

Actually, just over ten years ago, electric cars were not very common in China. At that time, many people didn't like them because they had several problems. The first problem was that they were expensive. The second problem was that charging wasn't convenient. There were very few charging stations, so many people worried that their car would run out of power. The third problem was driving range. Driving range means how far a car can travel on a full charge. If the range was too short, people worried that the battery would run out before they reached their destination.

Later, the Chinese government began supporting the development of new energy vehicles. New energy vehicles are cars powered by electricity or other alternative energy sources. The government provided subsidies to people who bought these cars. A subsidy means the government pays part of the cost for you. As a result, electric cars became more affordable. China also started building more and more charging stations. Today, in many Chinese cities, you can see charging stations almost everywhere.

Besides government support, Chinese companies also developed very quickly. They invested a lot of time and money into battery technology. Batteries became better, cheaper, and able to travel longer distances. In the past, many electric cars needed charging after only 200 or 300 kilometres. Today, some electric cars can travel 500 or 600 kilometres on a single charge.
So why do Chinese people like buying electric cars so much?

One of the most important reasons is that they save money. In other words, they cost less to run. Generally speaking, electricity is cheaper than petrol, so people who drive every day find that using an electric car costs less than driving a petrol car. Filling up a petrol car can cost several hundred yuan, while charging an electric car may cost only a few dozen yuan.

The second reason is that they're quiet. Because electric cars run on batteries, they produce much less noise than petrol cars.

The third reason is technology. Many Chinese electric cars now come with large screens. Some can help you park, and some can even assist with driving.

If you visit China next time, take a look at the cars on the roads. You might find that out of every ten cars, five are electric.

Have you ever ridden in an electric car in China? Do you prefer electric cars or petrol cars? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!