ECCT hosts forum on Taiwan's EV transition

The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) hosted the 2021 International Electric Vehicle Forum to discuss feasible solutions to make Taiwan's transition to electric vehicles a smooth one. Arranged by the ECCT's Mobility committee in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), and the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO), the forum brought together policy makers and industry experts from Taiwan, Europe, and Asia. The forum began with opening remarks by guests of honour Lin Chuan-neng, Vice Minister, MOEA; Thomas Juergensen, Head of Trade Section, EETO; Tsai Hung-the, Deputy Minister, EPA, and Chen Yen-po, Political Deputy Minister, MOTC. This was followed by presentations by officials and experts in three sessions on the topics: 1) Charging standards and facilities, 2) Charging infrastructure & power management, 3) EV ecosystems and supply chains. In addition to presentations by industry experts, Lee Chun-li, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Energy and Hsieh Han-chang, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, under the MOEA took part in the morning panel discussion.

During the forum, speakers and panellists discussed relevant initiatives currently undertaken and challenges faced in Taiwan, aimed at increasing awareness and understanding among major stakeholders in Taiwan of crucial elements that should be considered during the process of forming EV development policies.

2020 marks a pivotal year for the electrification of mass market transportation. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, the global development in vehicle electrification is accelerating. More than 20 countries have already announced targets for electrification or phasing out internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and eight countries plus the European Union have announced net-zero pledges. In addition, 18 of the 20 largest OEMs have committed to increase the offer and sales of EVs. Meanwhile, electric car registrations increased in major markets in 2020 despite the pandemic, taking the number of electric cars on the world's roads to more than 10 million.

Taiwan's ICT and automotive industries have also demonstrated ambitions to embrace the new trend to spearhead a new crucial role of Taiwan in the global e-mobility supply chain. However, there are many questions to be answered as to how Taiwan is to meet its EV goals and prepare industries for this transformation. In particular, without sufficient charging infrastructure, consumers will hesitate to go electric while charging providers may be reluctant to invest without government support.

During the forum speakers stressed the need for a master plan for charging infrastructure development, changes to regulations to allow the installation of charging stations on public land and to give apartment owners the right to install charging facilities. In addition, subsidies and other incentives will be needed to spur private investment in charging infrastructure as well as to spur consumers to purchase EVs.

Please refer to the event website at the following link for the detailed agenda and speaker information: https://www.ecct.com.tw/2021IEVF/index.html.

歐洲商會主辦臺灣電動車轉型論壇

歐洲在臺商務協會於線上及實體舉行2021年電動車國際研討會，探討如何讓臺灣在電動車轉型過程更順利，活動由歐洲商會智能移動委員會、經濟部、環保署、交通部、歐洲經貿辦事處合作舉辦，廣邀臺灣、歐洲及亞洲官員及產業專家與會，特邀貴賓歐洲在臺商務協會張瀚書理事長、經濟部林全能常務次長、歐洲經貿辦事處經貿組雍青龍組長、環保署蔡鴻德署長、交通部陳彥伯政務次長開幕致詞，後由官員及專家舉辦三場次演講與座談，主題包括充電標準及設備、充電基礎建設及能源管理、電動車生態系及供應鏈。

講者及與談人深入討論臺灣目前的策略和阻礙，希望業界相關人士更加瞭解，在制訂電動車發展政策時需考量的要素。

2020年堪稱主流運輸市場電動化的關鍵年，在全球新冠肺炎疫情之下，各國電動車加速發展，超過20國已宣布電動車目標，或逐漸淘汰內燃引擎車輛；八個國家以及歐盟已發表淨零承諾。全球前20大汽車製造商之中，已有18家將增加電動車產品與銷量，雖然疫情在2020年肆虐，各大市場的電動車登記數量仍繼續攀升，目前全球上路的電動車數量已突破1000萬輛。

臺灣的資通訊及汽車產業已展現企圖心，要把握新趨勢而起，讓臺灣在全球電動車供應鏈扮演重要角色，不過究竟該如何達成電動車目標，又該如何協助產業轉型，臺灣仍有不少尚待克服的疑問，特別是若充電基礎建設不足，若無政府支持，充電供應商恐怕不願投資，消費者也勢必在選購電動車時卻步。

在研討會中，講者均強調充電基礎建設需有整體方案，並增修各項法規，開放在公有地設置充電站，也允許公寓屋主裝設充電樁；此外，政府亦需提供補助及誘因，鼓勵民間投資充電基礎建設，也吸引消費者購買電動車。

以下為本次研討會講者及講題，詳見以下活動網頁議程：
https://www.ecct.com.tw/2021IEVF/index.html