• 2 min read
China’s EV taxis are now cheaper than gas cars
Rising fuel prices are pushing more Chinese riders into electric taxis, with **3.05 billion** trips logged in May as gasoline use fell sharply.
Image: iXBT
China has found an unexpected buffer against rising global oil prices: the rapid electrification of taxis and ride-hailing fleets. As gasoline gets more expensive, more people in the country are opting for taxi rides because trips in electric vehicles are becoming cheaper than using their own internal combustion cars, according to Reuters.
From March to May, the number of taxi and ride-hailing trips in China rose 6% from a year earlier. In May alone, residents made 3.05 billion such trips. Social media posts cited by Reuters suggest cost is a major driver, with riders increasingly seeing EV-based taxis as a better deal than driving themselves.
Lower fares are being driven by several forces at once. Analysts say a slowing economy has brought more drivers into the market, while affordable electric cars have cut operating costs. That has intensified competition among transport providers and pushed prices down further.
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About half of China’s 1.3 million taxis already run on electric power, and in major cities the EV share is nearing 100%. Ride-hailing giant Didi added 2 million hybrid and electric vehicles last year alone, bringing its greener fleet to 8 million vehicles. EVs now account for about 75% of all miles driven on the platform.
The shift is already showing up in fuel demand. In May, China cut gasoline consumption by 10% year over year and diesel consumption by 14%, despite growth in freight transport and record activity during the May holidays.
According to Greenpeace, about 90% of taxis and shared-ride services in China will be electric by 2035. As more residents move away from private combustion-engine cars, overall demand for trips is still rising through public transport and taxis.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
