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Tesla becomes first electric auto importer to get free license plates
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SHANGHAI recently became the first Chinese city to include imported electric cars in a subsidy program for green cars. The thinking behind the policy may go beyond a simple goodwill gesture chipping away at protectionism that has hindered promotion of electric cars in China.
Earlier this month, the Tesla Model S became the first imported green car model to qualify for free license plates for private owners, a privilege formerly reserved only for Shanghai-manufactured models, and then extended last February to out-of-town cars like BYDs and BAICs.
A license plate like that, which comes from a quota of 20,000 free plates for private purchases of electric cars in Shanghai, can save consumers over 70,000 yuan (US$11,207) at the city’s monthly plate auction. Every free plate means that less revenue for the municipal government.
According to one industry insider who asks not to be identified, the city may earmark up to 3,000 car plates out of the free quota for imported green cars. That will cost the government more than 200 million yuan in lost revenue.
Since the prices of Tesla Model S start at 700,000 yuan, some people may well ask why the government should be subsidizing well-heeled citizens.
“We always like to put icing on the cake,” Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said of Shanghai’s support to a high-end electric carmaker like Tesla. “It is a way to lift up Shanghai’s image.”
By comparison, the Chevrolet Volt, which targets the mass market and was among the first imported electric cars in China, hasn’t benefited from any of the city’s preferential policies.
The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, which is responsible for electric car policies, said the nod to Tesla doesn’t mean all imported electric cars will enjoy the same benefits in the future.
It is not yet clear what criteria the commission will use. Market analysts said policies may favor some popular car models to ensure the city meets its goal of selling 13,000 electric cars between 2013 and 2015.
It seems a relatively easy-to-fulfill target, compared with Beijing’s and Shenzhen’s sales goal of 25,000 electric cars during the same period, except that Shanghai specifies private purchases will comprise 50 percent of orders.
Only 1,000 of the 20,000 free license plates for private electric cars in Shanghai have been taken so far. Consumers seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude amid concerns about the battery safety and mileage. Tesla, with its futuristic design and promise of cool experience, is one of the very few electric carmakers that are attracting consumer interest.
Auto analyst Zhang Zhiyong said the municipal government obviously wants to ride the market momentum of Tesla to show its support for new energy technologies. But Tesla models are still a minority choice for car shoppers, and their spill effect to the mass market might be rather limited.
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