Shanghai issues first free plates for new energy vehicles

 　　SHANGHAI, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai resident Qian Jun didn't have to spend a single penny on a license¹ plate for his newly-bought battery electric vehicle (BEV).

　　The electric car cost him 140,000 yuan (22,498 U.S. dollars) in total, including a vehicle purchase tax and car insurance. Normally, a domestic BEV costs buyers 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.

　　Shanghai is now offering financial subsidies² for purchases of BEVs on top of central and local government funding, helping³ car buyers to save more than 100,000 yuan each.

　　The municipal government issued regulations to encourage private purchase and use of new energy vehicles at the end of last year. Free car plates for new energy vehicles are one of the incentives⁴.

　　"The performance of this electric car matches that of a petrol vehicle with a 1.8-liter engine," said Xu Weihan, who is in charge of BEV sales at Tzgev Limited, a company specializing in new energy vehicles.

　　Qian said his average daily commute⁵ is around 20 km, adding that he only has to charge his car's battery once every four or five days. The monthly electricity bill for his car is about 60 yuan, far less than the money one normally pays for gasoline.

　　"I mainly charge the car at work, since there are charging posts near my company," Qian said.

　　Shanghai now has over 1,000 charging posts, most of which are located in the city's Jiading district, where Qian lives. The city is planning to build 50 battery switch stations with 5,000 charging posts over the next three to four years.

　　"Electric vehicle technology has become more mature and people now have to pay much higher prices for license plates. This has led to more people coming to ask us about electric vehicles," Xu said.

　　The average bid for a plate in Shanghai soared to a record high of 75,332 yuan during a monthly auction⁶ that ended on Saturday, an increase of 5,986 yuan compared with last month.

　　"Environmental protection could be another reason for the popularity of electric vehicles," Xu added.

　　Dangerous levels of air pollution in some Chinese cities have been blamed on increased vehicle emissions⁷ resulting from a greater number of cars hitting the streets in recent years.

1 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

2 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

6 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。