Chinese
smartphone maker ZTE plans to invest 1.5 billion CNY ($240 million,
roughly Rs. 1498 crores) in wireless charging technology for vehicles in
2015 and more than 2 billion CNY next year, a senior executive told
Reuters on Thursday.
ZTE’s
director of corporate strategy, George Sun, also said the company had
signed agreements with more than 20 cities in China to provide wireless
charging technology for public transportation, in a significant boost
for the country’s electric car industry.
“So
far the feedback (from local governments) is very, very positive. We
solved the biggest headache of electric car charging for local
government,” Sun said.
Chinese
drivers have yet to widely adopt the use of electric vehicles despite
years of government programmes to support their development, although
public transportation fleets are a notable exception. Shenzhen-based ZTE
plans to conduct pre-commercial trials of wireless charging for public
transportation in 50 to 100 Chinese cities in 2015, Sun said.
ZTE
was in talks with several Chinese and foreign carmakers over possible
collaboration on wireless charging technology for vehicles, he added,
declining to elaborate. Wireless charging technology saves space,
allowing governments to install it in bus terminals or car parks,
although the costs for wireless equipment are higher than traditional
charging facilities.
In
a renewed effort aimed at cutting heavy pollution, China has rolled out
aggressive targets for vehicle fuel efficiency that will grow
increasingly strict until 2020, at which time its standards will have
surpassed the United States and be on roughly equal footing with Japan.
The
government has offered tax cuts for green vehicles and proposed
extending subsidies, mostly for domestic producers, to aid automakers in
meeting these targets.
ZTE
said last month its 2014 profit was likely to rise 94 percent thanks to
its high-speed 4G network division and smartphone business.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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