China has been turning to electric taxis to soften the impact of oil price shocks, particularly with the recent Hormuz oil shock. Across Chinese cities, taxi usage and ridesharing are booming, with people taking 3.05 billion trips in May, a 6% increase since the Iran war began.
Electric Taxis on the Rise
About half of China’s 1.3 million-strong taxi fleet is electric, according to the Ministry of Transport, and in major cities, it is closer to 100%. Didi, the main ridesharing app, said it registered another 2 million hybrid or electric cars last year, taking its total non-fossil fuel fleet to 8 million cars, with electric vehicles doing 75% of all mileage.
As a result, China burned 10% less gasoline and 14% less diesel in May than a year earlier, even though road freight rose 2%, and road travel during the May Day long weekend hit an all-time high. Greenpeace forecasts that 90% of taxi and ridesharing mileage will be electric by 2035.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
