The streets of Beijing have changed dramatically within just a few years. The noisy, smelly thrum of traffic has been replaced by an unusual quiet for a megacity. Roads course with a stream of mostly electric vehicles, all with their distinct, green license plates.
This is not just a Beijing phenomenon. For those arriving in many of China’s major cities from countries dominated by gas-guzzlers, the quiet will be their first impression, said Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
It’s like stepping into the future, he told CNN.
By any measure, China’s EV growth has been extraordinary. More than half of new cars sold are electric, putting the world’s largest automarket on a path to all but erase gas-powered cars over the coming decades. Last year, China’s EV sales soared to 11 million, a nearly 40% increase on 2023, according to data from UK research firm Rho Motion. It’s an “irreversible transformation,” Shuo said.
I can’t tell you how much nicer it is to have a hybrid or ev bus pass you as a pedestrian than a massive rumbling stinking diesel.
I also prefer electric cars, but goddamn if I haven’t gotten a heart attack multiple times from a sneaky silent ev fly past me minding my own business walking on the road. (not every road has sidewalks in the non-US city where I live)
You’re obviously not a true red blooded American! True patriots enjoy being choked to death by exhaust fumes!