Taiwan’s first electric commercial vehicles make media debut

Taiwan’s first self-developed commercial electric smart vehicle made its media debut, with economic officials saying the aim is to complete all related tests and make the vehicle road-ready by the second quarter of 2011. The electric vehicle, developed mainly by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), can run for 80 kilometers on a 30-minute charge, said Chang Nien-tzu, a deputy chief at the ITRI’s smart vehicle technology section. With subsidies and commodity tax breaks provided by the government, it is estimated that a company that purchases a fleet of 100 of the electric vehicles would break even on the purchase cost in less than five years, according to the ITRI. (September 29, 2010)