| Our man fromAmsterdam
by Richard Butter
“I am convinced that
the most important
automotive innovations
are coming out of China
and this is especially
so in the field of electric
transport and mobility”
Another issue is that the taxi drivers
have to factor in the distance from the
nearest charging station when picking up
and dropping off customers.
China is an impressive country, and
even though I’ve already visited 15 times, it
still surprises me. Politicians there
probably have more power to accelerate
progress than in the West (nothing works
on Google, they have Baidu). And for me it
is clear, China is in the driver’s seat
regarding electric and clean mobility.
The big question I have is, what can we
learn from the megacities in China that
will help us to speed up the mobility
revolution closer to home?
Richard Butter is director of traffic technology
at RAI Amsterdam and is responsible for Intertraffic
worldwide events, www.intertraffic.com
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com 053
China is surging ahead
in the developing
mobility solutions
for the future
As we enter the latter
end of the year, busy
months of traveling to
Intertraffic shows in Jakarta and Mexico
City await. Before those, however, I also
have a trip to China to fit in.
Traffic in China always surprises me.
From my first visit, six years ago, I was
completely overwhelmed by the fact that all
scooters were electric. And, after attending
the last three editions of the Consumer
Electronics Shows (CES) in Las Vegas I am
convinced that the most important
automotive innovations are coming out of
China and this is especially so in the field
of electric transport and mobility. For
instance, did you know that 95% of all
electric buses worldwide drive in Chinese
cities? And the top five largest
manufacturers of these vehicles are
Chinese: Yutong, BYD, Zhongtong Bus,
CRRC and Foton.
Let me provide some more facts for you.
First of all, according to The Economist,
(China’s plans for the electrified,
autonomous and shared future of the car,
April 4, 2019) “Chinese carmakers already
make more cars than those of any other
country. They also make more electric
cars than anyone else, laying a claim to
the industry’s future. Beyond that, China’s
rulers, carmakers and tech firms also want
to take advantage of the upheavals in how
people get around beyond driving their
own car – ride-hailing apps, autonomous
vehicles, bike- and scooter-sharing
schemes, smart public transport
and more.”
Secondly, in the city of Shenzen, there’s
a silent revolution going on. All 16,000
buses in the fast-growing Chinese
megacity are now electric, and soon all
22,000 taxis will be too. Getting the
required charging infrastructure for taxis
is proving more challenging.
All of Shenzhen’s 22,000 taxis are now
required to switch to electric, but the lack
of charging stations is causing friction
between taxi drivers with disputes over
access to the charging stations supposedly
a frequent occurrence.
November/December 2019 Traffic Technology International
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