The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced the launch of an electric car industry research consortium and projected that the output value of the country’s electric car industry would reach more than NT$300 billion (US$9.19 billion) by 2020.
Wu Ming-ji (吳明機), director-general of the Department of Industrial Technology, said countries around the world have been working to promote the development of electric cars.
The US has plans for 1 million electric cars by 2015, while China also has a plan to test 1,000 electric cars in 10 major cities, Wu said.
“Although Taiwan currently only offers subsidies for electric motorcycles, the government will also establish policies and measures to promote electric cars in the future,” Wu said. “Electric cars are not a dream, but will soon become a reality.”
Wu said if Taiwan’s auto industry could combine with the information technology (IT) and electronics industries, the nation could play an important role in the world’s electric car market.
Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association chairman Chen Kuo-rong (陳國榮) said that if every electric car were sold at US$30,000, it would translate into an output value of US$2.1 trillion.
“If Taiwan’s IT industry has a global market share of 3 percent, the output value of Taiwan’s electric car industry could reach NT$2 trillion,” he said.
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