The Beijing Motor Show has displayed a number of new energy vehicle (NEV) concepts, as well as production models, as Chinese automakers aim to strengthen their presence in the segment.
IHS Automotive Perspective
Significance
Despite the drive for new energy vehicles (NEVs), the majority sales of domestic brands are still expected to remain within China.
Implications
Concepts on display point to the future direction of NEVs and IHS Automotive forecasts show certain start-ups with production models in the pipeline.
Outlook
Although there is growth in NEV offerings, sales and production remain a small percentage of the overall market.
State-owned Chinese automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) Group has developed a new range of electric vehicles (EVs), further strengthening its commitment to the new energy vehicle (NEV) trend pushed by the government in China. However, as with other Chinese automakers, SAIC is not just aiming to sell these models in the local market.
At the Beijing Motor Show (25 April−4 May), the automaker has displayed the seven-seater EG10 and 15-seater EV80, which are models from the SAIC Maxus division of light commercial vehicles. SAIC aims to sell these electric vehicles (EVs) in markets such as the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand, and is also seeking to expand sales of NEVs in China.
In China, the Maxus EG10 will be targeted at urban families, while the EV80 will be targeted at firms such as travel companies and mobile businesses such as mobile coffee shops. SAIC has begun to increase its budget on advertising and marketing strategies to facilitate "changing the mindset" of potential consumers, reports newspaper the China Daily. SAIC Maxus overseas business sales manager Shawber Guan said, "We have already made a good start. Supportive government policies and advanced technologies are good but not enough. So, we'll increase our advertising budget to explain the advantages of NEVs to consumers in our target markets. We are in this for the long term. If you invest a lot, you earn a lot eventually.”
SAIC will also support infrastructure development in China, such as adding charging points, but would like to see other cities in China follow the example of Shanghai, where buyers of NEVs receive free licence plates, saving them around CNY86,000 (USD13,200). The city government of Shanghai will also install 10,000 charging stations in the next three years. SAIC aims to sell 6,000 EV80s priced at CNY500,000 and 1,000 units of the EG10 priced at CNY400,000 this year.
SAIC has recently shown its Maxus EVs at the Dubai Motor Show and will now send sample vehicles for test runs. However, SAIC also has plans to enter mature markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
Meanwhile, Anhui Jianghui Automobile Company (JAC) has also displayed NEVs at the Beijing Motor Show. The automaker has released the iEV6S, a pure electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), which has a range of up to 300 kilometres on a single charge and is powered by a Samsung lithium-ion battery. The car has been developed so that it will operate in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.
JAC iEV6S
JAC also plans to introduce an entry-level EV in the market. "[A] new energy vehicle, iEV6E, an entry-level pure electric model, is also ready for the market after the release of the predecessor, iEV6S," the automaker states in a news release.
Chinese start-ups are also targeting the EV market and NextEV has plans to build a CNY3-billion (USD462,000 million) plant in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province, with the aim of producing 280,000 motors for EVs per annum. In addition, NextEV aims to produce its EVs with automaker JAC.
JAC iEV6E
In addition, Faraday Futures, a US-based start-up that has already announced a USD1-billion production base in Nevada, which is under construction, has teamed up with Chinese start-up Le Eco, which is also an investor in the company. At the Beijing Motor Show, Faraday showed the FF01 Concept, which the US company's head of design, Richard Kim, says is the basis for an upcoming production model. The company will use technology from LeEco to develop the model, with China and the US markets as the most important markets.
Chinese start-up Qiantu Motors has displayed its K50 electric roadster at the Beijing Motor Show. According to local media, the K50 will be a production car and will be built at a plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
Outlook and implications
Automakers in China are increasing the number of models in their NEV line-ups, while new start-up companies aim to jump-start their entry into the market with upmarket EV roadsters.
Overall, these companies may see growth in sales outside of China, but whether NEVs will become a significant sales contributor will have to be seen.
The Maxus brand from SAIC will enter markets outside of China, using the brand name LDV in developed markets, while Maxus will be the official name in emerging markets. By 2020, IHS Automotive sales forecasts show that LDV vehicles will witness sales of just less than 5,000 units globally, mainly in markets such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, while the Maxus brand is forecast to have total sales of around 54,000 units in eight markets, ranging from China to Colombia and Chile. Meanwhile, JAC exports are expected to increase in emerging markets, with around 57,000 units forecast by 2020, but China will remain its largest market with sales of over half-a-million units.