Thanks for the comments. Regarding the future of diesel in China, please see my comment posted elsewhere on Aimee’s blog: http://burnurl.com/DdVjhC

You are correct that alternative propulsion technology is an area that the government must promote because it requires infrastructural investment as well as investment within companies to a great extent owned by the government. My interview comments are directed toward the consumer side, where I consider it less likely that consumers would select hybrids due to a higher total cost of ownership.

I did not foresee the market grew so fast. As Bill pointed out, the GDP per capita increased much faster than had been expected.

Another thing I would like to point out is that the future of either clean diesel or hybrid gas will be mostly decided by the government’s policy.

Thanks for sharing your insights.
In Texas we have a ‘gas-guzzler’ tax imposed on appropriate new vehicles much like you described for China. I always thought that was a federal tax. Couple in the fact that insurance rates are also set based on engine displacement. Adding that to the cost of fuel here, I would say the US consumer has as much or more personal awareness of the impact of their automobile purchase.

Hi Drew,

The infrastructure in China is much better than some parts of the USA, especially in and around the major cities. This was quite surprising to me after arriving as I expected it to be quite different. There has been tremendous investment in infrastructure here, which the government realizes is critical to the economic development. Traffic is most definitely a problem in the large cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but they are always adding more elevated roads and subways to try to correct this. You can be sure that China will invest…and will move whole villages if necessary to make room for the new infrastructure. Bill