The Latest Innovation From China: Electric Car Vending Machines!

China is often considered the fastest growing country in the world with an expansion rate that is truly astounding.  With massive increases in population and a booming economy, innovative technological advancements are thriving with no slowdown in sight.

Although the Chinese have been increasingly interested in cars due to the prosperous economy, the air quality in the country continues to be a major concern.  The government is taking severe action to combat this problem by placing a limit on the number of new license plates that they will issue.  Over the coming period, these regulations will be broadened to require many of the new vehicles to run on natural gas or electricity.  However, if the forward-thinking Kandi Technologies company has its way, private car ownership will one day be a thing of the past.

The rise of incomes in China is one of the reasons for an increased interest in cars, especially for occasional use.  Kandi Technologies saw this commercial need and have created an innovative, electric car dispensing contraption called the “Kandi Machine”.  Unlike initiatives in the U.S. which offer short-term rental cars in small parking lots, such as Zipcar and Car2Go, Kandi is building completely automated garages which will hold between 30-300 cars each.  This service is already in its initial operations and will continue to grow, with 50 garages expected to be working by March and an additional 700 garages to be subsequently built in the booming city of Hangzhou.

With a population of over 8.7 million people, Hangzhou is an ideal place for Kandi to begin their enterprise before their continued expansion plans throughout all major cities in China.  Intended to be quick, easy and fully automated, a customer simply puts their card in the vending-type “Kandi Machine” and a car is immediately available for them to use from the garage for only $3.25 per hour.  The electric cars are built in partnership with Geely, and even though they have a limited range of 75 miles and a top speed of 50 miles per hour, the speed limits in cities only go up to approximately 30 miles per hour, so these cars work well in the urban Chinese context.  Kandi smartly provides one-way rentals, making these cars very useful for the varying needs of customers.

Kandi Technologies also offers what they call a “Long Lease”, providing the customer with a car for 1-3 years for only $130-$160 per month.  The company realizes the challenges that come with installing electric vehicle chargers, so they have combated this issue by swapping batteries in the cars and recharging them separately.  Discussions about the utilization of this technique exist in the U.S., but China seems to be taking the lead by being the first to try it in a commercial setting.

However, Kandi Technologies hasn’t taken over the car industry yet, and they are still a small company with less than 3% of the market in China.  However, with their innovative ideas and exceptional timing, Kandi Technologies may be capable of leading Hangzhou to become the electric car capital of the world.  Only time will tell.