BEIJING - A fleet of 50 electric cabs started operation in the Chinese capital Beijing on Tuesday.

The cabs, manufactured by the Beijing-based Foton Motor Group, will mainly operate in suburban Yanqing district where the government has set up a recharging hub and 25 recharging posts at street sides, city traffic officials said.

The launching ceremony for a fleet of 50 electric cabs hit the road in Beijing on March 1, 2011. The electric cabs started pilot operations in Yanqing district. The cab charges start from a 5 yuan surcharge for 3 km, and another 1.5 yuan per kilometer. [Photo/Xinhua]

Each of the electric cabs can run 140 kilometers on full battery and saves more than 30,000 yuan on fuel per year, a spokesman with the Foton Motor Group said. The cut on carbon dioxide emission by shifting to the use of an electric cab equals to planting 1,100 trees.

Beijing plans to use 5,000 new energy-powered vehicles for public services by 2012 and provides cash incentives to individuals who buy new energy-powered private cars.

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Beijing now has more than 4.76 million cars on the roads.

The Chinese government introduced policies in 2010 to boost the development of new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.

According to a development blueprint released in September last year, China aims to have more than 500,000 new energy vehicles on the road by 2015 and 5 million by 2020.

In the meantime, China will build 4,000 electric vehicle charging stations over the next five years and another 6,000 before 2020.