ABOUT 70 percent of potential car buyers surveyed by a local newspaper are still taking a wait-and-see attitude in purchasing electric cars, even though a recently adjusted policy allows Shenzhen car owners to apply for a second license plate for an e-car, it was reported yesterday.

    The new policy introduced by the city government Sunday specifies that individuals who already own an electric car are eligible to apply for a second e-car plate during the seventh round of lottery draws to be held later this month.

    A vehicle salesman in Futian District, surnamed Zhang, was optimistic about his business after the adoption of the new policy. “The sales of new-energy cars this month are expected to be higher than those of last month,” Zhang said.

    Zhang said that 200 BYD e-cars were ordered by customers last month, and the total government subsidy for buying a new-energy car is up to 70,000 yuan (US$10,892).

    Analysts said many buyers would take electric cars into consideration after the new policy was introduced, but whether it will really boost sales remains unclear.

    A random poll conducted by a Daily Sunshine’s reporter showed that 12 out of 16 customers in car dealerships thought twice about buying a new-energy car, and only two customers were willing to pay a purchase deposit.

    In 2010, Shenzhen officially required all residential estates to install recharging poles that were supposed to take up 5 percent of the overall parking space in the estates, while the city’s development and reform commission released a list of 14 trial estates.

    The Daily’s reporter visited five residential estates on the Futian District list Tuesday, finding that only one of them has set up recharging poles as required.

    A resident, surnamed Zhang, said he was considering buying an electric car, but he had to think twice as he couldn’t find any recharging stations in the city center. Another resident, identified as Jiang, said some charging poles didn’t match the charging plugs of some e-cars.

    Shenzhen plans to build 169 charging stations, 2,000 quick-charging poles and 27,000 slow-charging poles by 2015, but only 30 percent of quick-charging poles and 10 percent of slow-charging poles have been completed, according to other media’s reports. (Zhang Yang)