GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent auto, Tencent's media platform for the auto industry, serves as a new platform to discuss the development of new-energy vehicle technology during the first "Guangzhou International Electric Vehicle Exhibition", which is held during the 12th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition. Tencent Auto and the Automotive Chamber of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade held a new-energy car summit on the theme of Trends and Breakthroughs, attended by auto industry leaders and a broad array of officials from government bodies including the Foreign Trade Division of the Ministry of Commerce, the China Society of Automotive Engineering and the Institute of Industrial Research of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Deputy General Manager Ge Yan of the Regional Portal Operation Department of Tencent speaks at the forum
Forum Attendee Group Photo

At the summit, Tencent Auto announced it is setting up a new-energy vehicle channel to focus on the development of this important segment, tracking the latest progress with in-depth discussions on current industry news and breakthroughs. Tencent Auto is the first auto portal in China to establish a specific platform for new-energy vehicles.

New-energy vehicles have become a key focus for the auto industry worldwide, and are a particularly important element of China's strategy to develop and grow its auto industry. China attaches great importance to the development of new energy and is increasing its support of the sector, laying out a technology roadmap including specific targets such as cumulative production and sales of millions of new-energy vehicles.

At the summit, Deputy Director Zhi Luxun of the Division of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, said Ministry of Commerce is determined to create a fair and competitive environment for the players in the industry. According to statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the third quarter of this year, new energy automobile production in China exceeded 40,000 units, more than tripled over the same period last year, which stayed at only 17,600 units. Also, new-energy cars with independent intellectual property rights made by domestic auto makers are now exported to developed markets in Europe and America.

Another featured speaker at the summit was renowned economist Mao Yushi, who recalled the path of scientific and technological inventions throughout history and noted how important technology was at first greeted with scepticism.

"In spite of people's lack of confidence in fuel cells," Mao Yushi said, "I believe electric cars will play a significant role in public transportation, because buses don't drive very long distances, and charging, which takes some time, shouldn't be an issue for them, let alone battery changes. So the bus segment shouldn't be ignored." He added that "One important way of addressing environment destruction is to replace the cost of the society with the cost of individuals, i.e., individuals have to pay taxes if they pollute the environment. This method is commonly used in countries around the world to make individuals more careful about not to pollute the environment, because otherwise they will bear the cost."  

Yuan Xiaolin, President of Volvo Group China, said at the summit that governments should issue policy guidelines for government subsidies so that long-term forward-looking decisions can be made in terms of which technologies or business solutions to invest in. 

As part of its commitment to the exhibition, Tencent Auto sent a huge media team and maximized coverage of the event by blasting out feature columns and employing an array of products including auto page cards on Tencent News terminals, touch-screen versions and video pages via multiple channels to reach both PC and mobile terminals. With an ongoing stream of media reports and simple-to-read pages, Tencent Auto provided 10 days of entertaining and informative coverage throughout the China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition. 

At the launch ceremony for the Tencent Auto New-Energy Vehicle Channel,  Deputy General Manager Ge Yan of the Regional Portal Operation Department of Tencent, said she believes that Tencent Auto will become an authoritative voice in the new-energy vehicle sector and will initiate exploration and information sharing in multiple facets of the industry. "Tencent recognizes that the development of new-energy vehicles can only take place with the joint cooperation of government and business, and with the embrace of the new technology by consumers. Tencent Auto is excited to be in the forefront, providing a dynamic platform for all voices on new-energy vehicles to be heard," said Ge Yan.

About Tencent

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Every day, hundreds of millions of people communicate, share experiences, consume information, seek entertainment, and shop online through our integrated platforms. Our diversified services include QQ, Weixin and WeChat for communications; Qzone for social networking; QQ Game Platform for online games; QQ.com for information; as well as our eCommerce services.

Our company was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 and went public on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company has been one of the 50 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index since June 10, 2008, under stock code 00700. We seek to evolve with the Internet by investing in innovation, providing a hospitable environment for our partners, and staying close to our users.

For more information, please visit www.tencent.com/ir.

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