While nothing happens over night, the change from petrol to electric taxis is also going to be gradual one. For starters, all new taxis on the road will have to be electric, according to National Business Daily (NBD).

In the long run, this move may "create a market worth nine billion yuan (1.3 billion US dollars)" and it will obviously help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions, but during the first phase it will most likely be very difficult to implement the new rules and keep up with all the requirements - EVs are still very expensive (some figures show an electric car will cost them double the amount they'd pay for a petrol car), so not all taxi companies will be able to afford such a transformation. Also, building all the charging stations and other required facilities will also prove expensive for the capital of China.

NBD also reports that "Liu Jinliang, Chairman of Geely's ride-hailing arm Caocao, hopes the government can grant subsidies to new-energy taxies, which he says will motivate more enterprises."