Apr 12, 2011
Xinhua News Agency
Original article: [Chinese]

At 2.50pm on Monday afternoon, one of Hangzhou's new electric-powered taxis suddenly erupted in flames.

The car was burnt to a charred shell in about 8 minutes.

Both the driver and passengers escaped unhurt.

The car was one of the city's new fleet of thirty electric powered taxis took to the road less than three months ago.

On Monday evening, the company responsible for the vehicles held an emergency meeting at which they decided, due to safety concerns, to take all the cars off the road pending the outcomre of a formal investigation.

In related news, Beiing's Municipal government has announced that electic vehicles will not be subject to many of the restrictions that apply to the purchase of regular gas or petrol-fueled vehicles.

Source
Xinhua News Agency: 杭州電動出租車當街燒成空殼 今起暫全部停運 (Chinese)
Economic Observer: Electric Car Owners to be Exempt from Beijing\'s Driving Restrictions