future revving up for china's nevs
driverless electric car display at 2022 world intelligent connected vehicles conference. (photo: vcg)
edited by qi liming
china's new energy vehicle (nev) output reached a new high of 617,000 units this july, surging 117.3 percent year-on-year and 4.5 percent higher month-on-month, according to the china association of automobile manufacturers(caam).
leading role in the nev industry
after more than a decade of evolution and development, china's nev industry has been the leader in the world's vehicle electrification revolution, said insurance giant swiss re.
the world's vehicle electrification revolution is progressing rapidly, and china has been at the forefront of it, not only from a production and technology viewpoint, but also from the broader definition of nev, including but not limited to battery evs, hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles. china is on the path to cut carbon emissions in a safe yet efficient way.
along with china's nev production and sales hitting records, local nev technology has significantly advanced, and all core components such as batteries, electric motors, and electronic controls units can now be supplied through local manufacturers.
when it comes to charging infrastructure, china has also created the world's largest system of charging facilities, which effectively supports the promotion and adoption of nevs. it is expected that the nev industry will continue to grow at high speed in the next 5-10 years.
robust surge in nev market
nevs comprised 24.5 percent of china's total vehicle sales in july. this was for the fifth straight month of nev's market share in total vehicle sales, which has remained above 20 percent, according to s&p global commodity insights.
the china passenger car association raised its forecast for electric passenger car sales to six million units in 2022, from its previous estimate of 5.5 million units made at the end of 2021. the cpca expected its forecast to be further raised early in the fourth quarter.
industry sources anticipated that china's vehicle output and sales will both continue to see fast growth in the months ahead, as production by automakers is recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
according to alexander treves, an investment specialist at j.p. morgan asset management, in the electric vehicle space in china, j.p. morgan looks for companies with the most pricing power, usually the battery makers rather than specific auto brands.
fund manager, edmund harriss, head of asian and emerging market investments at guinness asset management, is also optimistic about china's ev sector.
harriss said chinese companies in the electric vehicle sector, factory automation, and sustainable energy field would likely outperform their global peers over the next five to 20 years.
big efforts to meeting climate change
according to pbs newshour, the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) report, released on april 4, concludes that falling costs for renewable energy and for electric vehicle batteries, in addition to policy changes, have slowed the growth of climate change in the past decade. costs are falling for key forms of renewable energy and ev batteries, and adoption of these technologies is rising.
as cbs news reported, electric vehicles are essential in limiting global warming. sam houston, a senior vehicles analyst for the clean transportation program at the union of concerned scientists, said, "it's super important to keep working on the progress of cleaning the grid as we adopt electric vehicles. the more we can do, the sooner we do it, it's going to help alleviate those things, or at least not let them get any worse."
with the development of nevs, it will, no doubt, help china to reach the target of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
