Taipei Tech electric cars charging at the university's electric charging station.

With the support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei Tech is sanctioned to import 200 electric motorcars—the two-seater Tazzari Zero from Italy—and will offer rental services starting in June. The rental services not only provide an exciting opportunity for citizens to experience green technology on wheels, it also allows Taipei Tech to collect data that will be used in future government green policy.

The manufacturing cost of each electric motor car is US $44,000. Despite its high price, with just US $12 registration and rental fee, citizens can rent it for 7 hours. Many citizens have seen the Taipei Tech electric cars being tested near campus, and the university has received many calls from people showing interest in renting the cars. Since the development of electric motor cars in Taiwan is still in its preliminary stage, electric motor cars are only available for rent. According to Car Plus, one of the most popular car rental companies in Taiwan, the rental records on the most recent holiday show that the 38 motorcars that Car Plus offered were fully booked. This is a promising picture that indicates that more and more Taiwanese people are aware of and are looking for greener transportation alternatives.

Taipei Tech electric cars charging at the university's electric charging station.

The general public is very much willing to give electric motorcars a try. Yet, the commonly shared doubt is the specification and capacity of the battery. Taipei Tech has foreseen the problems and provided solutions, however. Chien-Te Lee, the project owner of Taipei Tech electric motorcars, indicates that the Taipei Tech electric cars can be charged at specific charging stops or simply at home with regular electricity specification. The charging process takes 1-3 hours depending on the remaining electricity stored in the battery. For example, an empty battery takes an average of three hours to charge and only costs US$1. The battery allows the car to run for about 200 km (125 miles), which is a much longer distance compared to other existing brands of electric motorcars.

As Taipei Tech welcomes citizens to register for affordable rides, the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), with the full support of Taipei Tech, grandly established the Future Automotive Technology Cooperation Center. With the Cooperation Center located on the Taipei Tech campus, both divisions will continue to facilitate innovation and technological cooperation in the automobile industry, develop independent technology, and further cultivate the next generation of young Taiwanese vehicle engineers.

ARTC is the pioneer automotive research institute in Taiwan that boasts of critical technology, and Taipei Tech’s Department of Vehicle Engineering is also renowned for its focus on automobile expertise. The Future Automotive Technology Cooperation Center aims to participate and lead government authorized or industrial research and development. The joint collaboration between Taipei Tech and ARTC looks very promising, Taipei Tech President Leehter Yao said. So far, the Cooperation Center has started its engagement in six projects, including the research on enhancing the endurance of electric motorcars, ultrasound space domain scanning, auto-car-parking navigation system via camera positioning, and smart energy-saving system.

As the Cooperation Center becomes more actively involved in each research and development project, precision instruments and technical personnel will be largely incorporated. The objective is aimed at transferring finalized technology to relative industries and commercializes it into products available for the market, and the Taipei Tech electric car is the perfect debut of this collaboration.