Infrastructure is key to driving toward a better tomorrow
Crucial developments are in the pipeline as more environmentally friendly vehicles hit the streets.
Crucial developments are in the pipeline as more environmentally friendly vehicles hit the streets. Below are the four key areas which could revolutionize the industry:
EV charging standards
The National Energy Administration founded the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance on Oct 12. The aim is to accelerate research and set a standard for charging electric vehicles.
The alliance can help major electric carmakers, energy suppliers, charging facility manufacturers and operators, telecom providers and third-party organizations to evolve a universal standard.
Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said there are key challenges that must be addressed.
Motorists need to have easy access to charging posts, with a compatible interface involving a socket in the charging post and a plug in a car. There must also be a reliable payment method by creating universally acceptable cards.
Last year, China and Germany agreed to have a compatible electric car charging interface and communication protocol for data transfer between the post and the car.
"China's new charging standard is set to have an interface similar to the European standard, but (it) should not copy the voltage, current and communication protocol from Europe," Marco Hecker, managing partner of Deloitte China Automotive Consulting Practice, said. "The charging interface could be replaced or modified later. However, incompatible communication protocol would mean high investment, as it relates to the electronic control unit in a car."
Many car manufacturers are participating in the standard-setting process, hoping to avoid costly modification and redesign in future.
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors, which is based in the United States, may face financial problems if its billion-dollar facilities in China are found incompatible with the evolving local standard, according to Hecker.
Home recharging units
New homes must have electric vehicle recharging facilities in their parking lots, or at least be ready to install them, according to a guideline issued on Oct 9.
The target is to meet demand for recharging 5 million electric cars by 2020. The rule that at least 10 percent of public parking lots must have, or be ready to install, charging posts stays.
On average, every 2,000 electric vehicles should have at least one charging station. So, an inter-city fast-charging network is being planned to cover the major cities by 2020 in two steps.
The first is to promote setting up of charging stations in the regions surrounding Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The second is to focus next on the regions in central, western, and northeastern China.
Chen Ning, director of Deloitte China Automotive Consulting Practice, said: "The highlight is 100 percent new parking lots in residential properties should at least be ready for charging posts. As soon as the conditions are in place, citizens may install a charging post on their own. A guideline is in the pipeline to allow individuals to install a charging post and share among electric car users, either for free or for a fee."
There are three major State-owned companies among the players that will set up and operate electric vehicle charging posts. They are Potevio New Energy Co, NARTI Technology Development Co and Huashang Sanyou.
Chen said those setting up charging posts rely heavily on government subsidies. Since November last year, for each charging post built, local governments have received 4,000 yuan ($629) in subsidy from the central government.
Zhang Yu, managing director of industry consultancy Automotive Foresight (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said: "There have already been many encouraging policies for charging facilities, but the development was slow. There's no punitive rule saying if someone failed to meet the requirements, there would be penalties. We need tougher policies."
Guide for battery firms
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Oct 12 the first list of auto battery-makers and products that met standards set in March's guidelines.
Ten Chinese battery-makers met the standards in terms of production capacity, product safety, and research and development capabilities.
And 36 battery products met the standards in terms of safety, life cycle, and warranty.
There are four types of batteries－ternary lithium, lithium-iron-phosphate, lithium-titanate, and nickel-metal-hydride.
Marco Hecker said: "Ternary lithium will be the mainstream power battery in the coming three years.
"But in future, there could be breakthroughs in other power battery technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cell and lithium sulfur."
New-energy vehicles
Two auto majors announced electric vehicle initiatives in China. Volvo Cars announced earlier this month it will make an electric model in 2019. Dongfeng Renault said it will localize production of an electric model from 2017.
Volvo Cars will launch plug-in hybrid versions for all of its line-ups, and hopes the new-energy cars will contribute 10 percent of its sales volume in the medium term.
Tesla will also localize its electric cars in China. The world's most popular electric car, the Tesla Model S, was included in the list of NEVs that the Beijing local government supports. This came two years after Tesla made similar lists in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Buyers of NEVs approved by the central government would be eligible for tens of thousands of yuan in subsidies. If a model also happens to be in the list of approved NEVs of a local government, the buyer will receive more incentives.
Still, the most popular NEVs are not well-known brands but local models. Chinese automaker BYD's dual-mode Qin sold 14,747 units last year.
It is powered by either gasoline or battery. Last year, it was the champion among NEVs by sales. The Qin has already sold 16,477 units in the first half of 2015, leaving No 2, the BAIC E series, and No 3, the Zotye E20, far behind.
EV charging standards
The National Energy Administration founded the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance on Oct 12. The aim is to accelerate research and set a standard for charging electric vehicles.
The alliance can help major electric carmakers, energy suppliers, charging facility manufacturers and operators, telecom providers and third-party organizations to evolve a universal standard.
Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said there are key challenges that must be addressed.
Motorists need to have easy access to charging posts, with a compatible interface involving a socket in the charging post and a plug in a car. There must also be a reliable payment method by creating universally acceptable cards.
Last year, China and Germany agreed to have a compatible electric car charging interface and communication protocol for data transfer between the post and the car.
"China's new charging standard is set to have an interface similar to the European standard, but (it) should not copy the voltage, current and communication protocol from Europe," Marco Hecker, managing partner of Deloitte China Automotive Consulting Practice, said. "The charging interface could be replaced or modified later. However, incompatible communication protocol would mean high investment, as it relates to the electronic control unit in a car."
Many car manufacturers are participating in the standard-setting process, hoping to avoid costly modification and redesign in future.
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors, which is based in the United States, may face financial problems if its billion-dollar facilities in China are found incompatible with the evolving local standard, according to Hecker.
Home recharging units
New homes must have electric vehicle recharging facilities in their parking lots, or at least be ready to install them, according to a guideline issued on Oct 9.
The target is to meet demand for recharging 5 million electric cars by 2020. The rule that at least 10 percent of public parking lots must have, or be ready to install, charging posts stays.
On average, every 2,000 electric vehicles should have at least one charging station. So, an inter-city fast-charging network is being planned to cover the major cities by 2020 in two steps.
The first is to promote setting up of charging stations in the regions surrounding Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The second is to focus next on the regions in central, western, and northeastern China.
Chen Ning, director of Deloitte China Automotive Consulting Practice, said: "The highlight is 100 percent new parking lots in residential properties should at least be ready for charging posts. As soon as the conditions are in place, citizens may install a charging post on their own. A guideline is in the pipeline to allow individuals to install a charging post and share among electric car users, either for free or for a fee."
There are three major State-owned companies among the players that will set up and operate electric vehicle charging posts. They are Potevio New Energy Co, NARTI Technology Development Co and Huashang Sanyou.
Chen said those setting up charging posts rely heavily on government subsidies. Since November last year, for each charging post built, local governments have received 4,000 yuan ($629) in subsidy from the central government.
Zhang Yu, managing director of industry consultancy Automotive Foresight (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said: "There have already been many encouraging policies for charging facilities, but the development was slow. There's no punitive rule saying if someone failed to meet the requirements, there would be penalties. We need tougher policies."
Guide for battery firms
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Oct 12 the first list of auto battery-makers and products that met standards set in March's guidelines.
Ten Chinese battery-makers met the standards in terms of production capacity, product safety, and research and development capabilities.
And 36 battery products met the standards in terms of safety, life cycle, and warranty.
There are four types of batteries－ternary lithium, lithium-iron-phosphate, lithium-titanate, and nickel-metal-hydride.
Marco Hecker said: "Ternary lithium will be the mainstream power battery in the coming three years.
"But in future, there could be breakthroughs in other power battery technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cell and lithium sulfur."
New-energy vehicles
Two auto majors announced electric vehicle initiatives in China. Volvo Cars announced earlier this month it will make an electric model in 2019. Dongfeng Renault said it will localize production of an electric model from 2017.
Volvo Cars will launch plug-in hybrid versions for all of its line-ups, and hopes the new-energy cars will contribute 10 percent of its sales volume in the medium term.
Tesla will also localize its electric cars in China. The world's most popular electric car, the Tesla Model S, was included in the list of NEVs that the Beijing local government supports. This came two years after Tesla made similar lists in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Buyers of NEVs approved by the central government would be eligible for tens of thousands of yuan in subsidies. If a model also happens to be in the list of approved NEVs of a local government, the buyer will receive more incentives.
Still, the most popular NEVs are not well-known brands but local models. Chinese automaker BYD's dual-mode Qin sold 14,747 units last year.
It is powered by either gasoline or battery. Last year, it was the champion among NEVs by sales. The Qin has already sold 16,477 units in the first half of 2015, leaving No 2, the BAIC E series, and No 3, the Zotye E20, far behind.
