China's electric vehicle industry needs to raise its game on technology

Sales of plug-in electric vehicles in China, including those using plug-in hybrid and battery electric technology, are likely to fall well short of government targets, according to research company Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The Chinese government has supported both public and private purchases of electric vehicles with some of the most generous levels of support in the world. It has set ambitious sales targets: 500,000 cumulative sales by 2015 and 5m by 2020, contained in the 2012-20 New Energy Vehicle Industrial Plan, released in July this year. Its policy reflects the potential of EVs to reduce emissions, increase China’s energy security and help the domestic auto industry to catch up with, or even leapfrog, foreign competition.

However, Chinese electric vehicles sales have been slow: just 13,000 electric vehicles were sold between 2009 and 2011, including buses and public utility vehicles. Figures for 2012 are not yet available, but are not expected to be orders of magnitude higher.

There are three main factors holding back the Chinese electric vehicle sector. First, on the demand side, consumers have shown little interest in electric cars due to their high cost (despite subsidies), a lack of charging infrastructure and a string of accidents involving these vehicles.

Second, on the supply side, the leading Chinese car manufacturers have not yet put their muscle behind major model launches. They and their fleet customers have been waiting for the government to publish the 2012-20 industrial plan, in order to avoid investing in the wrong technology. The main electric vehicles on the market are produced by second-tier manufacturers, and are not fully competitive alternatives to conventional cars.

Third, and in the long term perhaps more importantly, there is a shortage of the technological expertise in the supply chain needed to produce a competitive, safe, mainstream electric passenger vehicle.

This technological expertise will take time to develop endogenously. The early adopters will be public fleets, where purchase decisions for buses, taxis, commercial and utility vehicles are decided, or at least heavily influenced, by the government. Private purchases will initially be limited to very low-end, compact vehicles – city cars – where consumer requirements are more modest. Under current policies, we forecast under our optimistic scenario that the cumulative sales of these segments will amount to 343,000 by 2015 and just over 1m by 2020. The latter figure would be equivalent to just 20% of the official target.

Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented: “China is making a big bet on electric vehicles. But it will need to bring in expertise and technology from foreign players to create competitive vehicles, and to deploy the full muscle of its auto industry in order to produce vehicles the public trusts. If it does this, we could well see sales in 2020 creeping closer to the target and China playing a leading international role. But the chances of China going it alone in electric vehicle, and as a result leapfrogging the world’s auto majors, are looking very slim”.

About Bloomberg New Energy Finance

Bloomberg New Energy Finance is the world’s leading independent provider of news, data, research and analysis to decision makers in renewable energy, energy smart technologies, carbon markets, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear power. Bloomberg New Energy Finance has a staff of 200, based in London, Washington D.C., New York, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town, São Paulo and Zurich.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance serves leading investors, corporates and governments around the world. Its Insight Services provide deep market analysis on wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal, carbon capture and storage, smart grid, energy efficiency, and nuclear power. The group also offers Insight Services for each of the major emerging carbon markets: European, Global Kyoto, Australia, and the U.S., where it covers the planned regional markets as well as potential federal initiatives and the voluntary carbon market. Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Industry Intelligence Service provides access to the world’s most reliable and comprehensive database of investors and investments in clean energy and carbon. The News and Briefing Service is the leading global news service focusing on clean energy investment. The group also undertakes applied research on behalf of clients and runs senior level networking events.

New Energy Finance Limited was acquired by Bloomberg L.P. in December 2009, and its services and products are now owned and distributed by Bloomberg Finance L.P., except that Bloomberg L.P. and its subsidiaries distribute these products in Argentina, Bermuda, China, India, Japan, and Korea. For more information on Bloomberg New Energy Finance: http://www.bnef.com

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is the world’s most trusted source of information for businesses and professionals. Bloomberg combines innovative technology with unmatched analytic, data, news, display and distribution capabilities, to deliver critical information via the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL® service and Multimedia platforms. Bloomberg's media services cover the world with more than 2,300 news and Multimedia professionals at 146 bureaus in 72 countries. The BLOOMBERG TELEVISION® 24-hour network reaches more than 240 million homes. BLOOMBERG RADIO® services broadcast via Sirius XM Radio and 1worldspace™ satellite radio globally and on WBBR 1130AM in New York. BLOOMBERG MARKETS® magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek magazine and the BLOOMBERG.COM® Web site provide news and insight to business leaders and financial professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.bloomberg.com

The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service and data products are owned and distributed by Bloomberg Finance L.P. (BFLP) except that Bloomberg L.P. and its subsidiaries (BLP) distribute these products in Argentina, Bermuda, China, India, Japan and Korea. BLOOMBERG, BLOOMBERG NEWS, BLOOMBERG TELEVISION, BLOOMBERG RADIO, BLOOMBERG MARKETS AND BLOOMBERG.COM are trademarks and service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.