The pure electric vehicles independently developed by a Yunnan local enterprise were handed to their first buyer in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, on May 25.

The purchasing institution was the Kunming High-Tech State-Owned Assets Investment?and Management Company. It bought the electric minivans FDE6810 at a price of 980,000 yuan ($158,000) each, more than 60 percent of which was covered by government subsidies.

Representatives from the Kunming High-Tech State-Owned Assets Investment and Management Company – the purchaser of the pure electric minivans – receive the vehicles in the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone, Kunming, Yunnan province on May 25. [Photo/kmhnz.gov.cn]

The electric minivans with 19-seat capacity were developed and manufactured by the Yunnan Wulong Motor Company, the biggest auto-maker in Yunnan. They are stable and energy-efficient with batteries capable of running for 260 kilometers after each recharge. One kilowatt hour of power allows the car to run 3 kilometers, substantially reducing the costs compared with ordinary cars.

Yunnan Wulong Motor Company launched operations in the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone last October. In less than a year, it has become a market leader in Southeast Asia in development and manufacturing of electric automobiles, increasing its annual output to 10,000 e-cars.

The market for electric vehicles in Kunming has also high potential. At the beginning of 2015, the Kunming Commission of Development and Reform announced preferential policies for the new energy automobile drivers in an effort to popularize the cars, including financial subsidies, battery rental services and construction of charging stations.

Workers assemble an electric bus in the Yunnan Wulong Motor Company in the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone, Kunming, Yunnan province on May 25. [Photo/kmhnz.gov.cn]

Edited by Mevlut Katik