The content of the article:
- Features of the Chinese market
- Best Selling Electric Vehicles From China
The electric vehicle market in China has been experiencing a period of rapid growth for a long time, with the number of models and new car manufacturers constantly increasing. In 2017, 6 of the 10 largest companies to include electric vehicles in their lineup were Chinese.
A the best-selling electric car on the planet is not the world famous Tesla Model S, but the BAIC EC-Series, which, however, is a hit only in the domestic market. Why are electric vehicles so popular in China and which ones are the most promising?
Features of the Chinese market
Among the top 5 selling electric cars, 3 can be purchased for under $ 10,000, given the discount provided by the Chinese government. The average range among the most common models is about 160-200 kilometers, and the average top speed is 95-120 km / h. The owner usually spends about 6-8 hours to fully charge a Chinese electric car.
That is, while the market is filled with rather cheap and slow electric cars with a small range, which will gradually change - according to Forbes estimates, sales of cars with electric motors in the luxury segment will be about three million copies by 2025, twice as much as in America.
One of the main contenders for leadership in the mid-price segment in the near future is the electric Volvo Polestar (since 2010, the company has been owned by Chinese investors), production will begin in the second half of 2018.
The segment of budget electric vehicles is likely to remain with Chinese automakers for a fairly long time - the domestic market shows a very large increase in the number of new models, repeatedly updating record sales values per month.
Government subsidies play a big role in the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market in Chinaallocated to increase the attractiveness of electric vehicles - buyers can purchase an electric vehicle at a large discount.
In 2018, the legislation in this area was updated and now it is aimed at supporting the most technologically advanced and energy efficient electric vehicles. For example, since this year, the Chinese government has provided support only to those electric cars, the range of which exceeds 150 kilometers (previously the norm was 100 km), and payments for buyers of cars capable of driving 400 kilometers without recharging were increased by 13%.
In addition, employees of state-owned companies who purchased an electric car are exempted from tax burden on a number of points and are rewarded with benefits when buying a home.
At the same time, benefits for the manufacturers of electric vehicles in China at the beginning of this year were cut due to an increase in cases of illegal embezzlement of public funds. And in 2019, absolutely for all Chinese automakers, it is planned to introduce a rate of 10% of the vehicles produced, which should show zero or very low emissions of harmful substances. The growth of the quota from year to year will contribute to a further sustainable increase in the electric vehicle market in China - in 2020 it is planned to raise it to 12%.
Best Selling Chinese Electric Vehicles
In December last year, the total number of registered electric cars exceeded 102,000 units, which is 230% of the same period last year - an increase of 600,000 vehicles. However, throughout China, the share of electric cars does not yet seem significant - 3.3% of the total new car market.
At the same time, Chinese automakers are still sending electric vehicles for export in very small batches, which is due to increased demand and extremely favorable conditions within the country - there is no sense in competing with foreign competitors outside of China.
Below are the top 5 best-selling electric vehicles on the domestic market, which allow you to form an understanding of the current stage of the segment's development (figures are for 12 months of 2017).
5. JAC iEV6S / E
25,741 cars sold
The compact front-wheel drive crossover was unveiled to the general public in 2016. It is driven by a 114 hp engine, which, at an average speed of 60 km / h, will exhaust the battery charge in 300 kilometers, after which it will take 11 hours to charge.
The maximum speed that the car is capable of developing is 130 km / h. Probably the most balanced EV of the entire top, considering both the ride and the space inside.
4. Chery eQ
27 444 sold cars
The electric version of the Chery QQ model, which was very popular in China - 5,650 copies were purchased in December 2017, that is, the popularity of the electric car in the domestic market is only growing. For about $ 24,000, the buyer will receive a small city car with a 22 kW battery that will travel up to 200 kilometers on a single charge.
The power of the electric motor is 57 hp, which allows the eQ to accelerate only up to 100 km / h. Perhaps with a more powerful engine, it would compete with the VW Up and Smart Forfour ED.
3. BYD Song PHEV
30,920 cars sold
The most popular BYD product in the Chinese market, showing, however, a fairly low power reserve - 70 kilometers without charging the battery, despite the fact that in China, charging points for electric vehicles are far from being installed everywhere. 112 hp engine accelerates the car to 180 km / h, up to 100 - in 4.9 seconds, according to the manufacturer. The most expensive of the five is about $ 40,000.
The all-wheel drive hybrid version of the model called EV400 was released in March this year and was set at 4-5 thousand units sold per month. The dynamics and speed of the electric version were retained, and the range was significantly increased to 360 km or 400 km if the speed during the trip does not exceed 60 km / h.
2. Zhi Dou D2 EV
42,342 sold cars
The success of the small two-seater from the huge conglomerate that also owns Volvo and Geely is due, among other things, to the huge number of contracts concluded with delivery services and companies in the taxi market. Sales started in 2015, by mid-2017 it became the most common electric car in China, occupying 10% of the market, and at the end of last year, the car received a new, slightly more powerful engine developing 41 hp, before that the figure was half that - 20 h.p.
The maximum speed that the D2 can reach is 88 km / h, and without recharging the electric car can travel 155 kilometers. Prices in China start at $ 21,000, and in Europe the D2 EV is sold as an ATV (which puts it in the Renault Twizy class).
1. BAIC EC-Series
78,079 sold cars
At the beginning of 2018, the four-seat BAIC EC-Series hatchback, a year after the start of sales, reached an average sales rate of 10,000 units sold per month, overtaking the aforementioned ZHI Dou D2 EV, even considering the great popularity with commercial users, and BYD lost its leadership in this niche. The reason for this is the very low cost of the EC-Series - about $ 22,000, a range of 200 km and, probably, a design somewhat reminiscent of a crossover.
The power reserve is 156 km with an engine power of 41 hp. It will likely become the world's best-selling electric car again in 2018, overtaking the Tesla Model 3.
Conclusion
China is making strong strides towards phasing out internal combustion engines by providing tangible support to the domestic electric vehicle market. Their sales and specifications will grow year after year, which is likely to lead China to a large lead as an electric car manufacturer.Does this mean that they will soon appear in Russia?
Taking into account the benefits for this industry within the manufacturing country, a significant part of companies will still focus on the Chinese market, and the high cost of products will hardly allow it to be in great demand on the world market in the near future, at least without government support in the countries of sale.
In Russia, such programs are being developed, but so far the state of the infrastructure for electric cars does not allow us to expect an increase in demand for such cars, possibly with the exception of Moscow and the Moscow Region, where most of the country's registered electric vehicles are currently located.
