China’s electric car capital has lessons for the rest of world

Aiming high: The Wuling Hongguang Mini convertible electric vehicle manufactured by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. — Bloomberg

ONE OF of the first things visitors to the southern Chinese city of Liuzhou notice is the quiet. Missing is the incessant noise of throbbing engines and clashing gears that provides the backdrop to daily life in most metropolises around the globe.

The reason: almost 30% of the cars sold in Liuzhou last year were electric, according to WAYS Information Technology, a Guangzhou-based consulting firm, more than five times China’s average - making the city of 4 million the effective capital of the biggest EV market in the world. Globally, it trails only Oslo for electric-vehicle penetration. Not only that, but Liuzhou’s air and water quality is among the best in a nation synonymous with choking pollution.