Company executives and ZINORO partners attend the ZINORO showroom opening ceremony in Beijing last week. [Photos Provided to China Daily]

BMW Brilliance launched the ZINORO brand in April 2013. The first model in its lineup, the ZINORO 1E, debuted at the Guangzhou auto show last November.

Specially made in China and for China, the vehicle can offer a maximum range of 150 km, and achieving a full charge takes approximately 7.5 hours. The vehicle is built in the company's Tiexi plant in Shenyang, where the BMW Brilliance joint venture now produces the BMW 3 Series sedans and X1 SUVs.

BMW Brilliance established a specialized research team to drive the ZINORO project through the independent development of proprietary technologies, such as batteries, and product testing.

According to the company, this commitment to innovation is what makes ZINORO 1E the best locally produced electric vehicle in the Chinese market, offering top quality, a unique driving experience and premium features.

First mover

China has been the world's largest car market for five years and will most likely be the largest electric car market in the world. The consensus among industry analysts is that the trend is driven by a middle class that is emerging as the per capita GDP of the country continues to climb.

Kastner said that BMW wants to be a pioneer in the market, which is why it chose to release the first all-electric sport activity vehicle on the mainland.

Though interest in electric vehicles is slowly gaining momentum as the country turns to this technology to address problems of energy scarcity and pollution, concern over the vehicles' perceived limitations has prompted many to take a wait-and-see attitude.

BMW Brilliance's rental service aims to take risk out of the equation to let curious customers give an electric car an extended test drive.

"This will not only attract more customers, but also reach out to a greater number of people who will try out and learn about electric vehicles," said Oliver Liang, director of ZINORO brand. "This can also help fulfill the objective of brand-building for ZINORO."

According to Liang, over the last two years, ZINORO team has worked very hard on fulfilling every requirement to qualify for the electric vehicle subsidies that were announced by the government. ZINORO has been listed among the vehicles eligible for central government, and the company is applying to be covered by the incentives of the Beijing municipal government as well.

"For people who are environmentally conscious, renting a 1E will be a good choice. For institutions that need to provide point-to-point transportation, such as large corporations, hotels, airports and even some media, the 1E product coming with a rental model might be a good try - saving both money and the environment," said Liang.