Electric car development could be sidelined in China; Chinese carmakers have spent lots of money developing electric cars — development that may have been a waste of resources
May 13, 2013 Leave a comment
Electric car development could be sidelined in China
Staff Reporter
2013-05-12
Carmakers could sideline electric cars to make way for the promotion of hybrid cars in China’s automobile industry, reports Guangzhou’s 21st Century Business Herald, citing executives at last week’s Shanghai International Car Show. At this year’s biennial show, only the venture between BYD and Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, Shanghai Volkswagen, and Dongfeng Nissan introduced pure electric cars, while the majority introduced new hybrid car models, according to the paper. According to official figures, carmakers sold 12,791 new-energy cars in China last year, including 11,375 electric cars, a rise of 98.8% from the previous year and 1,416 hybrid cards, up by 103.9% due to a low base last year. China’s electric car market is reportedly losing money, however, and its true scale is currently unknown, said independent automobile commentator Zhong Shi, adding that Chinese carmakers have spent lots of money developing electric cars — development that may have been a waste of resources.Wang Binggang, an electric vehicle expert, said that the economic outlook for newly founded electric car manufacturers is also not optimistic, as the electric car market is underdeveloped and has yet to catch on with the public.
The government initially planned to subsidize both electric cars and hybrid cars, with the minimum subsidy as high as 3,000 yuan (US$490) per car, but the specifics of the plan have yet to be revealed, leading many carmakers to adopt a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to developing the technology.
Wang believes China should insist in developing electric cars rather than hybrids, because the country’s traditional car industry will soon face huge restrictions due to environmental concerns regarding oil consumption.
The global development of electric cars is also facing obstacles, the 21st Century Business Herald said. According to the US research firm Navigant, during 2012-2020, carmakers are expected to sell 22 million new-energy cars globally, including 368,000 vehicles to the US, of which a third will be pure electric cars. The figures indicate that by 2020, pure electric cars will account for just 2% of total car sales in the US.
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