Yuanda Ruihua Electric Automobile has signed a contract to invest Rmb3bn to establish China’s first electric automobile industrial base in Wuhan, reported People’s Daily. The industrial base in Hannan district is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3,000 electric automobiles and 3,000 core components. It will take about two years to construct.

Pure electric vehicle are powered by only batteries and capacitors; after a three-hour charge, they can run for 250-300km. Those developed by the Ruihua Group in Shanghai have already served important events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo.

The new-energy vehicle sector is one of the several emerging industries that China has pledged to support. Wuhan government has been prominent in actively promoting electric vehicles. Earlier this year the city signed an agreement with Japan’s Nissan Motor to jointly study how to promote use of electric cars in Wuhan.

In a separate development, Nissan said it plans to introduce a new passenger car model in the Chinese market with its local partner to help meet demand for cheaper models. Nissan and Wuhan-based Dongfeng Motor Group will jointly produce and sell cars under the new brand Qi Chen from early 2012, said Hideki Kimata, senior general manager of the joint venture.