Chinese Car Sharing And Rental Firms Left Thousands Of Electric Vehicles Deserted

Today, most countries are still figuring out how to convert transportation into electric-powered vehicles. Meanwhile, China is already a leading nation for this. The use of electric vehicles has reached the point that some of them have been left deserted.

Because of the Chinese government's support for electric vehicles, many car sharing and rental companies have shifted to using EVs. However, Chinese media’s reports suggest that the bubble surrounding these businesses might already have deflated.

Recent pictures that are circulating the Internet show an area full of deserted electric cars. Perhaps, it is a graveyard for these vehicles?

The unused electric cars were reportedly parked along a river in Hangzhou’s outskirts. All of them belong to Microcity, an electric car sharing firm.

The company told the Chinese media that they still use the car. But when the media attempted to book a ride through the official app of the company, they could find no available cars.

A citizen who resides in the area claimed that since last July he has been receiving over Rs 3,00,000 each year from the company for the rental of the parking area. Another citizen said that when she tried to visit the area because she was curious, the guards did not let her in.

Amid the rise for the EV economy in China, Microcity isn’t the only car sharing firm which soared up but then died down really fast. Several companies have also undergone a short-lived growth.

One of the reasons might have been that users’ experiences over time. Another issue was the increasing traffic congestion across the country.

The country has already gone through a similar situation last year with the failure of the bike-sharing service. If the situation didn’t get better for electric car rental and sharing ecosystem, companies offering this kind of service might suffer a similar fate.