Why China’s electric-car industry is leaving Detroit, Japan, and Germany in the dust?

[antonius123]

Why China’s electric-car industry is leaving Detroit, Japan, and Germany in the dust
China was no good at cars. Then EVs came along.

• by Jordyn Dahl
• December 17, 2018

After the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s crippled China’s economy, the country began to open its markets to the outside world. The aim was to bring in technological know-how from abroad that domestic firms could then assimilate. By the early ’80s, foreign automakers were allowed in on the condition that they form a joint venture with a Chinese partner. These Chinese firms, by working with foreign companies, would eventually gain enough knowledge to function independently.

Sources: (BATTERY PLANS) BLOOMBERG ; (top EV companies) inside EVs ; (moving parts) ubs
$14,000
Cost of a license plate for an internal-combustion car in Shanghai

$0
Cost of an electric-vehicle plate in Shanghai

Or so the theory went. Chinese-produced cars subsequently flooded the market, but they were largely cheap copycats—they looked like foreign-made cars, but the engines weren’t as good. Carmakers in the US and Europe had too much of a head start for China to catch up.

The only way to outdo the rest of the world, then, was to bet on a whole new technology. Enter electric vehicles, which require less mechanical complexity and rely more on electronic prowess. A Chevrolet Bolt’s electric engine contains just 24 moving segments, according to a teardown performed by consulting company UBS. In comparison, a Volkswagen Golf’s combustion engine has 149. Meanwhile, China already had an electronic manufacturing supply chain in place from its years of producing the world’s batteries, phones, and gadgets.

6
Number of cities in China that accounted for 21% of global EV sales in 2017
Source: Bloomberg

Now the Chinese government is embracing the shift from combustion to electric engines in a way no other country can match. It’s made electric vehicles one of the 10 pillars of Made in China 2025—a state-led plan for the country to become a global leader in high-tech industries—and enacted policies to generate demand. Since 2013, almost 500 electric-vehicle companies have launched in China to meet the government’s mandate and to cash in on subsidies designed to generate supply.

BLOOMBERG
487
Number of EV companies that have launched in China since 2013
Source: Bloomberg

For consumers, the government promised one of the most difficult things to obtain in China’s metropolises: a license plate. To combat pollution, the number of license plates issued each year is strictly limited. Beijing awards them through a lottery, but the chance of getting one in any given year is now 0.2%. Shanghai sells them at an auction with prices of over $14,000, more than the price of many domestically produced cars. Electric-vehicle plates are not only faster to get; they’re free.

2020 forecast from The Wall Street Journal
“The world needs a different way of powering the economy,” says Bill Russo, CEO of the Shanghai consultancy firm Automobility. “China recognizes it can’t be dependent on fossil fuels—it will choke on its own fumes.”

China’s breakneck speed has changed the strategies of traditional auto manufacturers. Many are now basing their global strategy for electrification on China’s industrial policy, but the momentum behind China’s companies is hard to match—and that’s a threat to the bottom line for Ford, General Motors, and European carmakers.

Related

• A short drive across the Pacific

“The industry has always been dominated by Japan, the Europeans, and the US,” says Jonas Nahm, an assistant professor of energy, resources, and environment at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “The center of gravity is shifting very rapidly. I don’t think anyone has figured out a good response to it yet.”

Jordyn Dahl, a freelance writer based in San Francisco, lived in Beijing from 2013 to 2018.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/...eaving-detroit-japan-and-germany-in-the-dust/

 

[antonius123]

@Harmatia Antidote, @Beast, @serenity, @Daniel808, @Nilgiri, @gambit, @jhungary

China Is Leading the World to an Electric Car Future
New emission rules will force global carmakers to redraw their road maps.
Bloomberg News
November 15, 2018, 4:00 AM GMT+7 Updated on November 15, 2018, 5:01 PM GMT+7


The world’s biggest market for electric vehicles wants to get even bigger, so it’s giving automakers what amounts to an ultimatum. Starting in January, all major manufacturers operating in China—from global giants Toyota Motor and General Motors to domestic players BYD and BAIC Motor—have to meet minimum requirements there for producing new-energy vehicles, or NEVs (plug-in hybrids, pure-battery electrics, and fuel-cell autos). A complex government equation requires that a sizable portion of their production or imports must be green in 2019, with escalating goals thereafter.

The regime resembles the cap-and-trade systems being deployed worldwide for carbon emissions: Carmakers that don’t meet the quota themselves can purchase credits from rivals that exceed it. But if they can’t buy enough credits, they face government fines or, in a worst-case scenario, having their assembly lines shut down.

“The pressure is mounting,” says Yunshi Wang, director of the China Center for Energy and Transportation at the University of California at Davis. “This could be a model for other countries; it could be a game changer globally.”

The message coming from the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases is clear: Even as President Trump withdraws support for alternative fuels, attempts to gut mileage requirements, and begins the process of pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, China is dead serious about leading the way to an electrified future. That would help it reduce a dependence on imported oil and blow away the smog choking its cities. It would also help domestic automakers gain more expertise in a car manufacturing segment that’s burgeoning globally.

Electric Vehicle Sales
Data: Bloomberg Intelligence

Given the size of the Chinese market, the largest for cars overall and for EVs, auto companies will have to rapidly accelerate their development and manufacturing efforts to meet the targets. By 2025, China’s leaders want 7 million cars sold every year, or about 20 percent of the total, to be plug-in hybrids or battery-powered. “This is probably the single most important piece of EV legislation in the world,” Bloomberg NEF said in May.


The world’s largest automaker is certainly taking notice. Volkswagen AG, which sold just under 40 percent of its vehicles in China last year, says it will introduce about 40 locally produced NEV models in China within the next decade. “Volkswagen Group China will meet the government’s targets,” the company said in a statement.

The formula for doing so is algebraic, and the 10 percent credit target in the first year won’t necessarily equate to 10 percent of cars sold. For example, a pure-electric vehicle with a range topping 300 kilometers (186 miles) will generate more credits than one with lesser performance or than a gasoline-electric hybrid. The rules apply to all companies that manufacture or import more than 30,000 cars annually. The floor rises to 12 percent in 2020, then keeps increasing in line with the government’s ultimate plan to eliminate fossil fuel vehicles by a still-unspecified date.

Volkswagen workers build a Golf electric car at a factory in Dresden.
Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images
BMW AG, which sells more cars in China than anywhere else, makes two plug-in hybrids there and plans to produce two pure-electric cars, including the iX3 SUV, starting in 2020. Yet some companies will struggle to reach the goals under their own steam. “Carmakers are both technically and commercially not ready for a ramp-up in EV production to the level of the quotas,” says Sophie Shen, an automotive analyst at PwC in Shanghai.

So they’re turning to a wide range of solutions to avoid falling short. Ford Motor Co., which lost $378 million in China in the third quarter, is teaming up with Zotye Automobile Co., a minor domestic player, to jointly produce cars eligible for the credits, Asia-Pacific President Peter Fleet said in October. Ford will introduce at least 15 hybrids and EVs in China by 2025. Vehicles sold through the Zotye partnership will have a new brand name.

Some rivals, however, are putting their names on the same generic car. Toyota, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors all plan to sell the same electric SUV, developed by Guangzhou Automobile Group, to Chinese drivers. Other than brand-specific pricing and specifications, the models will be largely identical. That’s not ideal in an industry that prizes distinctive marketing, but it’s a necessary compromise until the companies develop their own technologies.

While carmakers have plenty of regulatory reasons to flood Chinese showrooms with EVs, it’s not clear that consumers will want them. Electric cars remain considerably more expensive than their gasoline counterparts everywhere; in China, where gasoline cars such as Chongqing Changan Automobile Co.’s Benben Mini model sell for as little as 29,900 yuan ($4,300), the difference can be especially pronounced.

For now, government subsidies for EVs cover much of that gap, running to as much as $7,900 for an all-electric vehicle with a range longer than 400km. That can offset almost one-third of the sticker price of a BYD e5 electric car.

The incentives, though, are being phased out and will disappear in 2021. That could mean a risky several years for automakers, since battery costs aren’t expected to be truly price-competitive with internal combustion engines until 2024 to 2028, depending on a vehicle’s type and the region of the globe where it’s sold, according to BNEF.

Still, the government has other levers should demand fall short. Several of the largest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, limit the number of cars on their roads by restricting the issuance of new license plates. In those metropolises, simply acquiring the right to purchase a car can be pricey. A plate for a traditional gas guzzler costs as much as $14,000 in Shanghai. But if a consumer decides on an EV instead, it’s free.

BNEF already expects 2.5 million passenger EVs to be sold in China in 2022. But if similar restrictions take off in other cities, particularly the rapidly growing industrial hubs of the interior, EV growth could be even more dramatic.

For the moment, domestic models will mostly remain confined to the Chinese market. “Right now a lot of the cars selling in China have zero brand value outside of China,” says Janet Lewis, the head of industrials and transportation research for Asia at investment bank Macquarie Capital. But the EVs that are successful in the early-adopting mainland market may eventually help China develop the manufacturing and branding expertise it will need to export more vehicles to other countries, experts say.

China undoubtedly will tweak its credit-and-subsidy regime as it seeks to encourage an electric-first domestic auto industry. The minimum thresholds of the cap-and-trade system for 2021 and beyond haven’t been laid out, though they’ll have to rise rapidly to meet government sales targets for NEVs.

It’s a direction of travel that couldn’t be more different from that of the Trump administration. But for global carmakers, it’s increasingly clear that policymakers in Beijing, not Washington, are in the driver’s seat. —Matthew Campbell and Tian Ying

— With assistance by Yan Zhang, Keith Naughton, Christoph Rauwald, and Oliver Sachgau
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-leading-the-world-to-an-electric-car-future

 

[Beast]

I wouldnt say China EV is leaving US and Europe in dust but government collective policy allows China to implement system much faster than others to change into a new eco system.

For example of implement subsidies to encourage EV purchase. Infrastructure to support EV. All these, China are definitely doing faster and better than others.

 

[Nilgiri]

@Harmatia Antidote, @Beast, @serenity, @Daniel808, @Nilgiri, @gambit, @jhungary

China Is Leading the World to an Electric Car Future
New emission rules will force global carmakers to redraw their road maps.
Bloomberg News
November 15, 2018, 4:00 AM GMT+7 Updated on November 15, 2018, 5:01 PM GMT+7


The world’s biggest market for electric vehicles wants to get even bigger, so it’s giving automakers what amounts to an ultimatum. Starting in January, all major manufacturers operating in China—from global giants Toyota Motor and General Motors to domestic players BYD and BAIC Motor—have to meet minimum requirements there for producing new-energy vehicles, or NEVs (plug-in hybrids, pure-battery electrics, and fuel-cell autos). A complex government equation requires that a sizable portion of their production or imports must be green in 2019, with escalating goals thereafter.

The regime resembles the cap-and-trade systems being deployed worldwide for carbon emissions: Carmakers that don’t meet the quota themselves can purchase credits from rivals that exceed it. But if they can’t buy enough credits, they face government fines or, in a worst-case scenario, having their assembly lines shut down.

“The pressure is mounting,” says Yunshi Wang, director of the China Center for Energy and Transportation at the University of California at Davis. “This could be a model for other countries; it could be a game changer globally.”

The message coming from the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases is clear: Even as President Trump withdraws support for alternative fuels, attempts to gut mileage requirements, and begins the process of pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, China is dead serious about leading the way to an electrified future. That would help it reduce a dependence on imported oil and blow away the smog choking its cities. It would also help domestic automakers gain more expertise in a car manufacturing segment that’s burgeoning globally.

Electric Vehicle Sales
Data: Bloomberg Intelligence

Given the size of the Chinese market, the largest for cars overall and for EVs, auto companies will have to rapidly accelerate their development and manufacturing efforts to meet the targets. By 2025, China’s leaders want 7 million cars sold every year, or about 20 percent of the total, to be plug-in hybrids or battery-powered. “This is probably the single most important piece of EV legislation in the world,” Bloomberg NEF said in May.


The world’s largest automaker is certainly taking notice. Volkswagen AG, which sold just under 40 percent of its vehicles in China last year, says it will introduce about 40 locally produced NEV models in China within the next decade. “Volkswagen Group China will meet the government’s targets,” the company said in a statement.

The formula for doing so is algebraic, and the 10 percent credit target in the first year won’t necessarily equate to 10 percent of cars sold. For example, a pure-electric vehicle with a range topping 300 kilometers (186 miles) will generate more credits than one with lesser performance or than a gasoline-electric hybrid. The rules apply to all companies that manufacture or import more than 30,000 cars annually. The floor rises to 12 percent in 2020, then keeps increasing in line with the government’s ultimate plan to eliminate fossil fuel vehicles by a still-unspecified date.

Volkswagen workers build a Golf electric car at a factory in Dresden.
Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images
BMW AG, which sells more cars in China than anywhere else, makes two plug-in hybrids there and plans to produce two pure-electric cars, including the iX3 SUV, starting in 2020. Yet some companies will struggle to reach the goals under their own steam. “Carmakers are both technically and commercially not ready for a ramp-up in EV production to the level of the quotas,” says Sophie Shen, an automotive analyst at PwC in Shanghai.

So they’re turning to a wide range of solutions to avoid falling short. Ford Motor Co., which lost $378 million in China in the third quarter, is teaming up with Zotye Automobile Co., a minor domestic player, to jointly produce cars eligible for the credits, Asia-Pacific President Peter Fleet said in October. Ford will introduce at least 15 hybrids and EVs in China by 2025. Vehicles sold through the Zotye partnership will have a new brand name.

Some rivals, however, are putting their names on the same generic car. Toyota, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors all plan to sell the same electric SUV, developed by Guangzhou Automobile Group, to Chinese drivers. Other than brand-specific pricing and specifications, the models will be largely identical. That’s not ideal in an industry that prizes distinctive marketing, but it’s a necessary compromise until the companies develop their own technologies.

While carmakers have plenty of regulatory reasons to flood Chinese showrooms with EVs, it’s not clear that consumers will want them. Electric cars remain considerably more expensive than their gasoline counterparts everywhere; in China, where gasoline cars such as Chongqing Changan Automobile Co.’s Benben Mini model sell for as little as 29,900 yuan ($4,300), the difference can be especially pronounced.

For now, government subsidies for EVs cover much of that gap, running to as much as $7,900 for an all-electric vehicle with a range longer than 400km. That can offset almost one-third of the sticker price of a BYD e5 electric car.

The incentives, though, are being phased out and will disappear in 2021. That could mean a risky several years for automakers, since battery costs aren’t expected to be truly price-competitive with internal combustion engines until 2024 to 2028, depending on a vehicle’s type and the region of the globe where it’s sold, according to BNEF.

Still, the government has other levers should demand fall short. Several of the largest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, limit the number of cars on their roads by restricting the issuance of new license plates. In those metropolises, simply acquiring the right to purchase a car can be pricey. A plate for a traditional gas guzzler costs as much as $14,000 in Shanghai. But if a consumer decides on an EV instead, it’s free.

BNEF already expects 2.5 million passenger EVs to be sold in China in 2022. But if similar restrictions take off in other cities, particularly the rapidly growing industrial hubs of the interior, EV growth could be even more dramatic.

For the moment, domestic models will mostly remain confined to the Chinese market. “Right now a lot of the cars selling in China have zero brand value outside of China,” says Janet Lewis, the head of industrials and transportation research for Asia at investment bank Macquarie Capital. But the EVs that are successful in the early-adopting mainland market may eventually help China develop the manufacturing and branding expertise it will need to export more vehicles to other countries, experts say.

China undoubtedly will tweak its credit-and-subsidy regime as it seeks to encourage an electric-first domestic auto industry. The minimum thresholds of the cap-and-trade system for 2021 and beyond haven’t been laid out, though they’ll have to rise rapidly to meet government sales targets for NEVs.

It’s a direction of travel that couldn’t be more different from that of the Trump administration. But for global carmakers, it’s increasingly clear that policymakers in Beijing, not Washington, are in the driver’s seat. —Matthew Campbell and Tian Ying

— With assistance by Yan Zhang, Keith Naughton, Christoph Rauwald, and Oliver Sachgau
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-leading-the-world-to-an-electric-car-future

More diverse competition and leadership is always good and welcome.

@GeraltofRivia @Genesis @serenity @rott @GS Zhou

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

More diverse competition and leadership is always good and welcome.

@GeraltofRivia @Genesis @serenity @rott @GS Zhou

A lot of those car sales are PHEV's.

Look at the PHEV next to BYD. Only the e5 and Yuan are EV's.

 

[antonius123]

A lot of those car sales are PHEV's.

View attachment 541332
Look at the PHEV next to BYD. Only the e5 and Yuan are EV's.

BAIC and Chery are EC also.

 

[beijingwalker]

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

BAIC and Chery are EC also.

BAIC’s top selling car is a very tiny compact.

 

[serenity]

I have a feeling that most Chinese auto manufacturer cannot be competitive compared with Japanese and German makers especially. This is for traditional car technologies like internal combustion engine and transmission. Chinese cars are good enough but cannot be called good when we know the market has better cars. But Chinese government is very interested in supporting own manufacturers so even though car pollution is bad, it is not the main contributing factor. Forcing market adoption of electric or hybrid only in less than ten years gives Chinese component OEM companies even level playing field in competition. In fact maybe even advantages because these guys started earlier and know about government policy on most important market place for Chinese cars.

Budget markets usually always takes more and makes more. Always the high end in whatever industry that eventually gets bought out after close to going bankrupt. A company serving the masses with budget, low-medium quality and trim levels nearly always owns more of the market for common goods. I don't see Chinese makers going upmarket. Maybe in decades like Japan now, they are comfortable going upmarket. Chinese businesses have been built on serving the working classes like the budget small cars that factory workers can save up to buy. It forces these companies to have large production facilities and completion rates, giving them a lot more flexibility.

 

[MultaniGuy]

Why China’s electric-car industry is leaving Detroit, Japan, and Germany in the dust
China was no good at cars. Then EVs came along.

• by Jordyn Dahl
• December 17, 2018

After the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s crippled China’s economy, the country began to open its markets to the outside world. The aim was to bring in technological know-how from abroad that domestic firms could then assimilate. By the early ’80s, foreign automakers were allowed in on the condition that they form a joint venture with a Chinese partner. These Chinese firms, by working with foreign companies, would eventually gain enough knowledge to function independently.

Sources: (BATTERY PLANS) BLOOMBERG ; (top EV companies) inside EVs ; (moving parts) ubs
$14,000
Cost of a license plate for an internal-combustion car in Shanghai

$0
Cost of an electric-vehicle plate in Shanghai

Or so the theory went. Chinese-produced cars subsequently flooded the market, but they were largely cheap copycats—they looked like foreign-made cars, but the engines weren’t as good. Carmakers in the US and Europe had too much of a head start for China to catch up.

The only way to outdo the rest of the world, then, was to bet on a whole new technology. Enter electric vehicles, which require less mechanical complexity and rely more on electronic prowess. A Chevrolet Bolt’s electric engine contains just 24 moving segments, according to a teardown performed by consulting company UBS. In comparison, a Volkswagen Golf’s combustion engine has 149. Meanwhile, China already had an electronic manufacturing supply chain in place from its years of producing the world’s batteries, phones, and gadgets.

6
Number of cities in China that accounted for 21% of global EV sales in 2017
Source: Bloomberg

Now the Chinese government is embracing the shift from combustion to electric engines in a way no other country can match. It’s made electric vehicles one of the 10 pillars of Made in China 2025—a state-led plan for the country to become a global leader in high-tech industries—and enacted policies to generate demand. Since 2013, almost 500 electric-vehicle companies have launched in China to meet the government’s mandate and to cash in on subsidies designed to generate supply.

BLOOMBERG
487
Number of EV companies that have launched in China since 2013
Source: Bloomberg

For consumers, the government promised one of the most difficult things to obtain in China’s metropolises: a license plate. To combat pollution, the number of license plates issued each year is strictly limited. Beijing awards them through a lottery, but the chance of getting one in any given year is now 0.2%. Shanghai sells them at an auction with prices of over $14,000, more than the price of many domestically produced cars. Electric-vehicle plates are not only faster to get; they’re free.

2020 forecast from The Wall Street Journal
“The world needs a different way of powering the economy,” says Bill Russo, CEO of the Shanghai consultancy firm Automobility. “China recognizes it can’t be dependent on fossil fuels—it will choke on its own fumes.”

China’s breakneck speed has changed the strategies of traditional auto manufacturers. Many are now basing their global strategy for electrification on China’s industrial policy, but the momentum behind China’s companies is hard to match—and that’s a threat to the bottom line for Ford, General Motors, and European carmakers.

Related

• A short drive across the Pacific

“The industry has always been dominated by Japan, the Europeans, and the US,” says Jonas Nahm, an assistant professor of energy, resources, and environment at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “The center of gravity is shifting very rapidly. I don’t think anyone has figured out a good response to it yet.”

Jordyn Dahl, a freelance writer based in San Francisco, lived in Beijing from 2013 to 2018.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/...eaving-detroit-japan-and-germany-in-the-dust/

Good congrats to China. I hope we can learn from China.

 

[TaiShang]

CATL deepens cooperation with BAIC BJEV, Pride Power on power battery system

Monika From Gasgoo| February 25 , 2019

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese EV battery provider Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) announced on February 25 that it has signed a five-year agreement to deepen the cooperation with BAIC BJEV and Beijing Pride Power System Technology Limited (Pride Power).

According to the announcement, CATL and Pride Power will provide BAIC BJEV with power battery systems in the next five years. Besides, Pride Power should offer the products to the EV maker at a bargain price and CATL need to supply an agreed monthly volume of battery, while BAIC BJEV is supposed to give CATL and Pride Power some procurement shares no less than a certain percentage of its annual battery procurement volume in 2019.

The agreement also says if CATL satisfies BAIC BJEV's battery needs on an monthly basis, the EV maker and Pride Power agree to prepay certain amount of money to CATL during the strategic cooperation period based on some conditions approved by all three parties. This prepayment should be fully offset against the money payable by the end of December every year.

Moreover, under the strengthened collaboration, CATL and BAIC BJEV will jointly build a R&D team to work on developing new types of power battery.

Earlier this month, CATL claimed that it will build the world's biggest battery factory in Erfurt, Germany and planned a capacity of up to 100GWh. In addition, during the Spring Festival, the battery manufacturer announced a partnership with Honda, saying it will offer 56GWh of lithium ion power battery to the Japanese automaker by 2027.

http://autonews.gasgoo.com/new_energy/70015683.html

***

EV is an entire ecosystem; China has presence in all areas, including batteries and software.

China is also the first country to release national standards on EV charging systems.

 

[antonius123]

Their top selling car is a very tiny compact.

View attachment 541536

It doesn't matter.

It is not about the current size of the companies, but how the electrical car technology would be disruptive to auto industry. Remember Android was tiny compared to Symbian at that time? but now you see how Symbian has been dead and Android rules.

Toyota and Volkswagen are the biggest now, but the future could be different story. The same like Tesla, they are leader now in electric vehicle, but in the 5 year ahead maybe not.

 

[Viny]

This revolution will take away the dependency on oil for mass and private transports, global economy will see one more change, countries spending a major sum of money in paying oil bills will save a lot and there socio economic growth will be much higher.

With china slowly moving towards electric the demand for oil will reduce even further and the cooling down of same would help many economies to get back on track and grow.
Interesting days ahead, as this one technology expertise will take china to next level where USA will the real heat to its position. All it games of war, security etc in middle east with oil will have no more value and its investment in Shale gas would see the challenges ahead.

 

[antonius123]

These are the Chinese car firms competing for Tesla's crown
The Chinese market is dominated by entry-level electric vehicles, and many are now partnering with Western companies desperate to get a foothold in Asia

By Amit Katwala

Monday 25 February 2019

TESLA / WIRED
The huge Tesla factory being built on the outskirts of Shanghai will be an important landmark for the electric vehicle industry.

But Elon Musk’s company will face stiff company from China’s huge home grown EV stars. In 2017, Chinese companies built 680,000 EVs - more than the rest of the world combined, and according to some reports, there are already 487 electric car makers already operating in the country.


“While there has been reports of the Chinese government cutting subsidies, the political approach to the industry has been actioned so that it progresses quickly and dominates globally,” says David Blair, global CEO of retail and brand consultancy Fitch. “There has been investment across groundbreaking research and into stellar start-ups, a reduction in fees for permits and licensing, and a boost for parts manufacturing, which has all contributed to its success so far.”

In Europe and the United States, electric cars are largely positioned as high-end vehicles, thanks in part to Tesla’s slick image. But in China, the market is dominated by entry level models, although a handful of firms are trying to change that - and many are partnering with Western companies desperate for a foothold in Asia. But who are the big players, and which companies are tussling with Tesla, Nissan and others for the electric vehicle crown?

BYD
Founded in the 1990s as a rechargeable battery business, ‘Build Your Dreams’ has grown into one of the world’s biggest electric carmakers, although the bulk of its business is from making lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and other consumer electronics. A quarter of the company is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment group, and Samsung and Daimler are among other investors.

BYD’s electric vehicle business is growing fast - it sold more than 100,000 units in 2016, and recently brought ex-Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz designers on board, potentially signalling a move towards more high-end models. Its Denza electric car, created in collaboration with Daimler, is close in price to Tesla’s Model 3.


JAC Motors
The state-owned company has been building vans and trucks in Anhui Province since the 1960s, but added a successful electric passenger car business to its operations in 2010. In 2017, it signed a partnership with Volkswagen, and will help the German car giant introduce the Seat brand to China. The Seat-inspired Sol E20X is expected to reach dealers in the second half of this year. JAC Motors also builds vehicles for NIO (previously NextEV), a self-declared Chinese Tesla rival which is working on autonomous vehicles and is poised for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. NIO’s ES8 is an electric SUV that undercuts Tesla’s Model X, while the EP9 is a sleek electric sports car.

BAIC
The state-owned manufacturer has been one of China’s leading vehicle producers for years, and is leading the country’s electric charge. Last year, it strengthened its position with the $4.5bn (£3.4bn) acquisition of BJEV, the Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. BAIC has a number of electric vehicles in its range, and its EC-Series city car was the world’s best selling electric vehicle in 2017. The company has partnered with Didi, China’s huge competitor to Uber, on building a fleet of electric and AI-equipped vehicles.

Xpeng Motors
With backing from Foxconn and Alibaba, Xpeng has a huge $3bn valuation, but is still in the early days of actually making cars. Its original concept car was heavily influenced by Tesla, and even relied on some open-sourced patents from the US company. The G3, which launched in December last year, borrows less heavily from Elon Musk’s company, but there are clear parallels - including the giant touchscreen in the dashboard. One difference is the price - the G3 will cost $33,000 (£25,000), significantly cheaper than the Tesla equivalent, the Model X.

JMEV
Founded in 2015 as an electric-only subsidiary of the Nanchang-based Jiangling Motors Corporation Group, JMEV now has a full range of electric vehicles, and sold 38,000 of them in 2017. One of its latest models is the E500, a mid-size SUV, and it’s also working on the T500, a unique electric pickup truck. This year, it’s expected to close a deal with the French carmaker Renault, which will take a significant stake in the company as it seeks to solidify its position in China.

Chery
Founded by the Chinese government in 1997, Anhui-based Chery has grown into one of the country’s largest exporters of passenger cars. It has four electric vehicle models, including the eQ, which - at less than $10,000 (£7,600) - is one of the cheapest cars on the market. It has a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which has invested more than €900m in a facility in Changshu that will research, test and manufacture electric vehicles.

SAIC Motors
Shanghai-based SAIC are one of China’s oldest automakers, and was one of the first to embrace electric vehicles. In 2011, it signed a partnership agreement with General Motors and in the last few years it has aggressively targeted international expansion, particularly in India. The company has earmarked $3bn for electric vehicle investment over the next few years, and has set up an Indian subsidiary called MG Motor India, based on the famous British brand MG, which SAIC acquired in 2007. It sells its EVs under the Roewe brand, and is rumoured to be launching the eZS electric SUV in India by the end of 2019.

Geely
Founded by Li Shufu in 1986, Geely is one of the few big car companies that the Chinese state does not have a stake in. In 2010 it purchased the Swedish brand Volvo, which unveiled its electric Polestar 1 model in Shanghai last year. At $176,000 (£135,000), the Polestar 1 is designed to compete with Tesla, and is likely to be built in China. Geely also has its own electric vehicle models, and owns the London Electric Vehicle Company, which is building London’s new fleet of black cabs.

Zotye
While Tesla faces fierce competition as it seeks to expand into the Chinese market, few brands are going the other way. Zotye could be the first Chinese-branded vehicle available to buyers in the United States. In November, it announced Zotye USA, a partnership with California-based HAAH Automotive Holdings. The company made headlines in 2014 when it was sued by Porsche for copyright infringement, and its SR9 petrol car bears a striking similarity to the Porsche Macan. Its most popular models include the Zotye E200, an all-electric city car in the Smart car vein.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/chinese-electric-car-companies-tesla-byd-jac-motors


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US Approves Chinese Electric Cars Imported From Kandi — Price For One Supposed To Be Below $20,000

February 22nd, 2019 by Nicolas Zart

US NHTSA Approves 2 Kandi Electric Cars



The Chinese electric car manufacturer Kandi must be seeing the Chinese new year auspiciously. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approved two of its cars for US sales.

The NHTSA approved the Model EX3 and Model K22, according to the company. We published expectations of this news back in August 2018. “Kandi Technologies Group announced recently that it has formed a partnership with Sportsman Country, a distributor of ATVs located in Dallas, Texas,” Steve Hanley wrote at the time. “Together, the companies will market two electric cars with the Kandi brand in America — the K22 subcompact and the EX3 compact SUV. Starting price of the K22 will be less than $20,000. Pricing for the EX3 has not been announced.”

Kandi Share Price Rises 40%


The news, unsurprisingly, sent Kandi’s stock up 35% on Wednesday.

Kandi Technologies Group and Geely Auto years ago formed a joint venture to work on and sell electric vehicles (EVs) together. Tens of thousands of their EVs have been sold in China since then. However, these were much smaller cars than Americans are used to and you could even get them via “vending machines.”

Although the new models won’t compete with the Tesla Model 3, the Kandi EVs are meant for a more American driving experience (though, one is still tiny). Kandi’s CEO Hu Xiaoming was quick to get the US-focused messaging rolling by saying:

“With this, we are confident in introducing our reliable vehicles to the American public. We believe both the EX3 and K22 are competitive in price and quality with advanced tech features that are in demand by American consumers.”

The Kandi K22 is a cheerful Smart ED look-alike. It sports modest performance, ideal for city-dwellers. The Chinese market specs are 990 kilos (2,183 lb), the EV sports a 25.9 kWh battery pack coupled to an electric motor pushing out 35kW (~47 HP) with 165 Nm (121.6 lb·ft) of torque for a range of 202 km (125.5 miles).

The other Kandi is the EX3. Its Chinese market specs are 49 kW (65.71 HP) and 175 Nm (129.07 lb·ft) of torque for a range of 380 km (~236 miles).

Does The Kandi EV Approval Mean The US & Chinese Trade War Is Over?
Overall, Kandi Technologies Group offers 5 EVs ranging from the above-mentioned K22 to a sub-compact K27, the compact EX3 mentioned in this article, a larger K17A, and the K12, which looks like the K22. While Kandi might not win the Automobile Naming Association’s imagination award of the year, the price might.

Kandi says it will sell the K22 at below $20,000 before subsidy. It could become the first Chinese subcompact EV sold in the US.

According to the latest political news, the US says there is a warming up in the tariff war between Donald Trump’s administration (and thus the entire US) and China. This is good news since, usually, the consumer ends up paying the price for those trade wars.
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/22/us-approves-chinese-electric-cars-imported-from-kandi/

 

[TaiShang]

BYTON to launches mass-produced M-Byte into market at the end of 2019

Molly From Gasgoo| February 22 , 2019


Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The electric vehicle startup BYTON is said to unveil the mass-produced model of the screen-filled M-Byte in the middle of 2019 and the vehicle's presale will start at the same time with predicted prices ranging between RMB300,000 and RMB400,000.

Besides, the new model will reportedly hit the market at the end of the year and step into the U.S. market in 2020.

The M-Byte concept was first shown at the CES 2018. With shorter front and rear overhangs, the BEV model gets more room for passengers. Boasting a futuristic gene, it is outfitted with such configurators as LED headlights, luminous marks, two-tone vehicle body as well as the trendy taillight cluster that stretches across the rear end.

The new model measures 4,850mm long, 1,960mm wide and 1,650mm tall. Wheelbase for the car reaches 2,945mm.

The traditional side-opening car doors feature the function of BYTON Intuitive Access that is able to recognize human faces using the facial recognition technology. In addition, the rear-view mirror for conventional cars is replaced with rear-view camera.

Inside, a massive liquid crystal display measuring 125cm long and 25cm wide at the symmetrical center console supports gesture recognition application. In addition, there is a 9-inch touch screen located in the middle of the dual-spoke steering wheel, integrating a number of functions for driver's operation like the seat adjustment.

The M-Byte mass-produced model is going to offer two power variants. The rear-wheel-drive version carries an electric motor at the rear axle, producing 272hp and 400N·m torque peak, while the all-wheel-drive version is powered by two electric motors at the front and rear axles with a combined output of 476hp and torque peak of 710 N·m.

http://autonews.gasgoo.com/new_energy/70015681.html