The Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2011-2020) is expected to be implemented in January, the Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday, citing an expert at the Society of Automotive Engineers of China (SAE).

The required standards for battery charging equipment will also be submitted to the authorities for approval next month, and are expected to be implemented in the first half of 2011.

Chen Quanshi, director of the electric vehicle branch of SAE and head of the Automotive Research Institute of Tsinghua University, said that the plan means that electric vehicles will play a key role in the strategic transformation of China's auto industry in the next few years. He also said that the country will realize the industrialization of hybrid electric vehicles and pure electric cars in the future, and will also develop fuel cell powered automobiles.

"It is an industrial consensus that China should develop electric vehicles, but the non-uniform standards of the battery charging equipment is a big obstacle for automakers," said Tang Xiaosen, manager of the strategic planning department of Nanjing Lvzhan technology Co., Ltd.

Zhang Ruifeng, an expert in electric autos, said that the government should introduce the competitive mechanism in the electric vehicle industry, and should allow the market to choose the best business model.