History of electric vehicle industry in China
China's first subway was constructed in Beijing in January 1970, nearly one hundred years after its initial development in London. By 1984, 66 major subway systems existed worldwide. Urban rail transit helped ease the immense pressure caused by urban traffic congestion, while allowing commuters to travel at great speed and convenience. Tianjin was the second city to have an urban rapid transit system and Shanghai was the third, the latter opening its Metro in 1995 that incorporated both subway and light railway lines. Electric bike and motorcycle development in the 1990s The two principal types of two-wheeled vehicles in China: two-wheel bicycles propelled by human pedaling supplemented by electrical power from a storage battery (bicycle-style), and low-speed scooters propelled almost solely by electricity (scooter-style). The technology of both types is similar. China's two-wheeled electric vehicle industry started under the planned economy of the Maoist 1960s. However, early efforts to develop and commercialize these electric vehicles failed. A group of entrepreneurs gathered during the 1980s to revive the fledgling industry but their ambitions were thwarted by poor technology and limited government support. By the 1990s, China witnessed the world's most spectacular growth in two-wheeled electric vehicles and annual sales of bicycles and scooters grew from fifty six thousand in 1998 to over twenty one million in 2008. In 2008 only, Chinese bought 21 million electric-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. This growth of electric-bicycles in China was less technology-driven and more policy-driven, facilitated by favorable local regulatory practices in the form of gasoline powered motorcycle bans and loose enforcement of electric bicycle standards. The alleged justifications for these bans included relieving traffic congestion, improving safety and reducing air pollution. Many Chinese cities started to ban or restrict motorcycles and scooters using a variety of measures: some cities suspended the issuance of new motorcycle licenses, others banned the entrance of motorcycles and scooters into certain downtown regions or major roads, and some capped the number of licenses and then auctioned the license plates that were available. These bans were imposed on all motorcycles, regardless of their power sources, and since electric-bikes are categorized as non-motor vehicles they were exempt from the bans. According to the motorcycle committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, the use of motorcycles is now banned or restricted in over ninety major Chinese cities. In fact, the government further supported the use of electric-bicycles by including them as one of 10 key scientific-development priority projects in the country's ninth Five-Year Plan. Some insiders claim that their development had the personal endorsement of former Premier Li Peng. In addition, improved technology, low barriers to entry, decreasing purchase price, and urban living were factors that furthered the popularity of electric-bicycles as a transportation mode. First, bicycle technology - specifically for motors and batteries - improved significantly during the late 1990s and this, coupled with a vast supplier base and weak intellectual property protection, increased competition. An increase in competition drove down the price of electric-bicycles and at the