If you want to understand how governments can fuel the rise of new technologies, look no further than the taxi fleets of Beijing.
Five years ago, the city revealed plans to ban the introduction of fossil fuel-powered taxis. Today, thousands of the cars run on batteries instead. And the drivers of these electric vehicles (EVs) don’t have to worry about wasting time at charging stations, either.
Many electric taxis in Beijing, and dozens of other Chinese cities, just go to a battery-swapping station where a machine plucks out the depleted battery and installs a charged one in mere minutes.
