Electric models at Beijing Auto Show

Biggest ever display of electric electric cars at Beijing

At the Beijing Auto Show, of the 990 models on display, almost one hundred of them were powered by alternative energy – virtually all by electricity.

Yet despite this confidence in a green future for China’s burgeoning car market – in 2009, with sales of 13.6 million vehicles, the country became the world’s largest auto market – there is currently no appetite for the hybrid cars which are currently on sale.

The Honda Civic hybrid, imported from Japan and therefore attracting a 25% tariff, sold less than 200 cars. Chinese battery-maker and now major car manufacturer, BYD, introduced the world’s first plug-in hybrid – the F3DM - in 2009. At 2.5 times the price of its conventional counterpart, sales were only 48 units.

However, several factors point to growth in demand for electric and plug-in hybrids. The Chinese car market is growing so rapidly that it could easily reach 20 million units in the next few years. Not only does this risk worsening pollution in China’s cities, but the country is also unable to meet the demand for conventional fuel that a market this size needs. As a result, Beijing is imminently expected to introduce draconian new emissions standards - which are prompting car manufacturers to seek new fuel-efficient technologies. In the longer term, the government is aiming to make hybrid and electric cars 15% of its market. Achieving that will realise another aim – a mass-market in lithium ion batteries and, possibly, a breakthrough in their technology which will reduce the unit price and give China global leadership in manufacturing.

Subsidies are another factor. Small car incentives introduced in 2009 helped power the market to year-on-year growth of 46% and subsidies on plug-in and electric vehicles are expected to overcome price differentials and boost both sales and investment in the new technology.

Electric and plug-in hybrid highlights at Beijing

SAIC is China’s largest vehicle manufacturer and has revealed its three door E1 electric concept car at Beijing. Badged as Roewe, the company claims that its batteries will charge to 80% in 30 minutes. It is also showing its hybrid version of the Roewe 750 ahead of volume production later in 2010, followed by a plug-in hybrid for 2012.

FAW Group, China’s second-largest vehicle maker, has joint ventures with Toyota and Volkswagen. At the show, the company said that it will launch hybrid and all-electric cars on a small scale by October 2010 and that they will be globally competitive by 2012. It is also showing two electric concepts, the E-wing and the E-coo.

Chery, has its all-electric QQ on display. The company has recently announced a memorandum of understanding with Better Place, the infrastructure company which is collaborating with the Renault-Nissan Alliance in a number of markets. In China, Chery and Better Place will work together on electric vehicle prototypes and jointly seek agreements with local and municipal governments on the development of battery charging infrastructures. Better Place are also demonstrating how its battery-swap technology works.

Chery signaled its global ambitions by announcing it has signed Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, FIFA Player of the Year, as an international ambassador to promote its brands.

BYD, the Shenzhen-based car maker 10% owned by Warren Buffet, will roll out the launch of its all-electric e6 model during the second half of 2010 in both China and the US – where it will sell for around $40,000. BYD and Daimler announced their cooperation in electric batteries and alternative drivetrains in March 2010. Daimler Chief Executive, Dieter Zetsche, said the two companies plan to launch an electric car in 2013. ‘It will be a Chinese car for the Chinese market, targeted at the taxi segment,’ he said.

Geely Automobile  which jumped to global eminence when it bought Volvo from Ford Motor Company for $1.8 billion in March 2010, has six new electric concepts on display.

Soueast Motors is displaying its Delica electric vehicles, jointly-developed with American company AEV, and the 5-door Fastback PHEV concept car V4.

Brilliance has unveiled a small, all-electric mini car concept intended to maximise its ‘green’ components. Its roof material, for example is apparently made of beans.

Nissan is displaying the Leaf, which it will launch in China in 2011. It is considering local production at its plant in Guangzhou.

Mitsubishi is showing the i-MiEV, so-called because it’s based on the Mitsubishi petrol-powered four-seater ‘i’ minicar, and it’s the ‘Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle’.

The i-MiEV’s high energy density lithium-ion batteries are the result of a joint venture company, Lithium Energy Japan, set up by Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa Corporation which originally aimed at producing batteries for 2,000 i-MiEVs. Such has been the demand for the new car that a new purpose-built plant will supply additional batteries. It has delayed the car’s launch in China, planned for 2011, by a year. Mitsubishi will initially export it from Japan but may be persuaded by the Chinese government to build it locally.

Toyota is showing its Prius plug-in hybrid which it wants to begin trialling in China as soon as possible. Also on the stand are the FT-EV 11 electric concept which shares its platform with the Toyota iQ, but is styled with a more compact body. It’s an urban runabout for short journeys.

Toyota’s FCHV-adv fuel cell concept vehicle is also on display. In 2009, the FCHV-adv achieved an estimated range of 431 miles on a single full tank of compressed hydrogen gas. Over the next three years, more than 100 FCHV-adv vehicles will be deployed as part of an expanded demonstration program prior to the planned market introduction in Japan in 2015.

Honda is exhibiting its near-future environmental technologies – including fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles. The company’s CEO, Takanobu Ito, said that Honda believes that fuel cell electric vehicles are the ultimate answer for the future as they have the advantages of zero CO2 emissions, a longer range and a short fuelling time. On display is the Honda fuel cell electric vehicle, FCX Clarity, on limited trial in California and Japan.

Also on the stand is the battery electric vehicle EV Plus and the EV-N, designed as a compact city commuter model that represents the direction Honda is taking with its research on battery electric vehicles. Honda is adopting the same strategy as Toyota: limiting battery electric propulsion to short-distance commuter vehicles that reflect the current capability of battery performance.

In 2012, Honda will begin sales in China of the Japan-made hybrids, the Insight and the CR-Z sports car and the following year, the hybrid Acura.

General Motors will introduce the Chevrolet Volt in China in 2011. China, the first country outside the US to take the Volt, will almost certainly be GM’s biggest market in the world in 2010.
Reflecting this status, GM revealed the Volt MPV5 concept at the Beijing show. It’s a five-seater MPV using Volt’s platform and extended-range powertrain technology. As in the Volt saloon, the electric motor provides all the propulsion; the 1.4-litre petrol engine exists solely to generate electricity once the batteries are depleted. The total range is 300 miles while the all-electric range is 32 miles.

Volkswagen is Europe’s largest car maker and according to CEO Martin Winterkorn, China is becoming VW’s ‘most important market around the world’. Launching VW’s electric car strategy for China at the show, Winterkorn announced that local production of electric vehicles would begin in 2013-2014. VW plan to extend their BlueMotion technology to provide ‘affordable electric vehicles with innovative technologies to Chinese consumers through local research and development, sourcing and production.’

Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the BMW Board announced in Beijing that the company will introduce its Megacity electric car by 2013. It will be the first mass-produced electric vehicle that relies heavily on the use of carbon fibre for its structure, so reducing its weight and increasing its range – estimated at 160 miles per charge. BMW will launch it as a sub-brand in much the same way as it markets the Mini.

BMW is continuing to trial the Mini E in selected markets and will deliver 50 to Chinese customers before the end of 2010. The company also intends to trial its ActiveE electric concept based on the 1 Series Coupe in China in 2011 and to develop and build plug-in vehicles in collaboration with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance. BMW is also showing an electric 5 Series concept. Called Echo, it was built in BMW’s local plant as an exercise to determine the extent of China’s EV technology.

Audi is showing its new hybrid Audi A8, a four-wheel drive e-tron electric sports car and the A1 e-tron electric cars.

Global intentions for Chinese electric cars

Beijing is a showcase for Chinese electric and plug-in hybrid cars but they are nearly all concept cars that will never translate into actual production vehicles. The technology is also heavily dependent on agreements with external manufacturers.

However, the government will support this fledgling sector of the market with the intention of developing a domestic industry of global importance and, given the projected growth of the car market, it is highly likely that it will succeed.