When Formula E was first created, one of its aims was to prove pure electric cars could be just as cool as their petrol equivalent.

The series had to attract itself to those still skeptical as to whether these types of vehicles really could be a viable alternative to those vehicles operated by a design that had worked for over 100 years.

While that was always going to be difficult in the developed world, where long-range petrol powered cars are seen as necessities as opposed to luxuries, in the emerging markets it was about generating a perception that EV’s were not just an environmental alternative but something you should have as your first car.

It was no surprise then that CEO Alejandro Agag immediately focused on having a presence in China, the world’s most populous nation.

Perhaps it was no surprise that the first ever Formula ePrix was on the often smog-filled streets of its capital Beijing. And it was also no surprise that the series should have a Chinese team, now under the name NextEV TCR.

As the West continues to struggle with tempting people away from their tried and tested petrol boxes, in China they have it a vital part of the country’s government policy to go electric.

Just last month Finance Minister Lou Jiwei spoke about the subsidies the government has been offering and how they would be phased out by 2021.

In doing so, China will be opening up the EV market to the private sector allowing start-ups and big manufacturers to choose its future direction.

Almost instantly the difference between East and West was shown. Lou and China’s start-ups, NextEV included, want to push for the all-electric car, using the example of Tesla and how it used California’s emissions credit system to become the company it is today. While Volkswagen and BMW AG instead believe hybrid cars are the future.

Whichever route wins, it seems the Chinese people are ready to take the brave step of leaving petrol power in the past.

Last year China overtook America to become the world’s largest market for what it calls ‘new energy vehicles’, a title covering pure electric, hybrid and fuel cell cars, as sales quadrupled.

Furthermore, Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of BYD the producer of the best-selling hybrid in the country, believes it’s only the start predicting all modes of transport will be fully electrified by 2030.

So where, you say, does Formula E come into this. Put simply the series needs to do what Formula 1 could never do, ensure it always has a presence in its biggest associated market.

Try as F1 might it has never been big in America. It had races at all the major racing locations and even created its own at the Circuit of the Americas, but it’s never been able to be as big as its American rival IndyCar.

While Formula E doesn’t have any competition to worry about what it does need to do is ensure it remains as attractive as it is currently, particularly in its biggest market, China.

Having NextEV involved will always keep some level of interest, but the development of the all-electric technology must continue at its current pace. Also, the series must be able to prove that development through longer races and taking out perhaps the most nonsensical thing about it: the use of two cars for quite a short race.

If that happens Formula E continues to draw fans; those fans then see the benefits of EV’s and that leads to growing sales not just in China but around the world.

China is ready to make its name in the automotive industry by skipping a century of one form of propulsion and heading straight for a new one. And for Formula E, it offers the chance for its own technology to be the driving force that achieves it.