Lifan to plug into green car rental business

Chongqing Lifan Group has rolled out an ambitious plan to build the world's biggest car-sharing rental company next year.

The company hopes to have 300,000 electric cars in its rental business by 2020, which will help make it one of the leading new-energy vehicle leasing platforms in China, according to Gao Yu, CEO of Lifan-owned Pand Auto.

Pand Auto, a car-hailing platform for new-energy vehicles, launched its car-sharing service in November in Chongqing.

This year, the service has expanded to Zhengzhou, Henan province, and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"Pand Auto is committed to promoting green traveling, combining internet tools for automobiles with car-hailing services," Gao said.

The company uses Lifan 300EV2 electric cars whose eight batteries, as claimed by the manufacturer, can be charged in just three minutes. The battery charging service can be provided by energy supply vans or at battery stations.

Carbon emissions could be reduced by 2 million tons every year if Pand's 300,000 cars are put into operation, she added.

Chen Wei, vice-president of Lifan, is an advocate of the battery-charging model for electric cars. "We charge the batteries during the night, which can cut energy costs in half."

"It is a very good use of 'waste energy' and we have a very clear business model," Chen said.