Top 10 Annual Events for New Energy Vehicles in 2021: Accumulation and Development of "10 Top Ten Inventory Points (5)"

After more than ten years of accumulation, precipitation and brewing, China's new energy vehicle market will usher in a new stage of explosive growth in 2021. Driven by the transformation of electrification, intelligence and networking technology, the new energy vehicle market has maintained rapid growth throughout the year, especially in the second half of 2021, the market penetration rate has continued to increase. According to the statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the cumulative output of new energy vehicles in China in the first 11 months of 2021 exceeded 3 million, with sales of nearly 3 million vehicles; it is expected that the annual sales volume of 2021 is expected to reach 3.4 million units; and the production and sales in 2022 will exceed 5 million units. China's new energy vehicles have shifted from being policy-driven in the past to being market-driven. To this end, "Auto Vertical" sorted out the top ten annual events of new energy vehicles in 2021, taking the past as a mirror and drawing a blueprint for tomorrow.

1 Rapid popularization and accelerated penetration into small and medium-sized cities

The market penetration rate of new energy vehicles is rising. At the 2022 China Auto Market Forecast Summit, BYD representatives released the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in 342 cities. The data shows that in November 2021, there were 220 cities with a penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeding 10%, accounting for 64%, an increase of 171 over 2020; 143 cities in the 10%-20% range, an increase of 107 over 2020; 56 cities in the 20-30% range, an increase of 47 over 2020; 14 cities in the 30%-40% range, an increase of 11 over 2020; and 7 cities with a penetration rate of more than 40%. This is an increase of 6 from 2020.

Quick review

The acceleration of the penetration of new energy vehicles into small and medium-sized cities has broken people's inherent impression that the new energy vehicle market is mainly concentrated in first-tier or major large cities. The private consumer market continues to grow, and the sinking market potential is gradually released. 2021 is an important year for the explosive growth of new energy vehicles.

2 Stand firm, monthly sales into the "era of 10,000 vehicles"

In November 2021, Xiaopeng Automobile sold 15,613 units, delivering more than 10,000 units for the third consecutive month, an increase of 270% year-on-year; Ideal Automobile delivered 13,485 units, an increase of 190.2% year-on-year; ANDC delivered 10,878 units, an increase of 105.6% year-on-year. Compared with the previous three new car-making forces, Nezha Automobile's delivery volume in November 2021 reached 10,013 units, an increase of 372% year-on-year, and its monthly sales exceeded the 10,000-vehicle mark for the first time, second only to "Wei Xiaoli" in sales.

Some of the new car-making forces are gradually gaining wings. The rise of new car-making forces represented by Weilai, Xiaopeng and Ideal has exceeded 10,000 monthly sales, indicating that independent brands have been recognized by more and more consumers. This will undoubtedly better promote the innovation and development of China's intelligent electric vehicles, accelerate the realization of Lane Change and overtaking in China's automobile industry, and promote China's transition from an automobile power to an automobile power.

3 The market is sinking, and the activities of new energy going to the countryside continue to deepen

On March 26, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Notice on Carrying Out New Energy Vehicles in the Countryside in 2021. The theme of the event is: Green, Low Carbon, Intelligent, Safe - Step into the "New" Era and Help Comprehensively Promote Rural Revitalization. In accordance with the requirements of the notice, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has organized a series of new energy vehicle activities in Liyang, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hubei, Shiyan, Guangxi, Liuzhou, Guangxi and Yibin, Sichuan, and the market response was enthusiastic. According to incomplete statistics, from January to November 2021, the cumulative sales of models going to the countryside were 927,000 units, an increase of 1.9 times over the same period, making positive contributions to stabilizing and expanding automobile consumption and improving rural travel conditions.

The activity of new energy vehicles going to the countryside not only enriches consumers' driving experience and car purchase choices, but also plays a positive role in promoting the application of new energy vehicles in rural areas, guiding rural residents to travel green, improving the level of rural traffic safety, driving the transformation and upgrading of infrastructure such as road networks and power grids, and helping to comprehensively promote rural revitalization, and also playing a role in promoting the realization of China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

4 Expansion and expansion, power battery "horse racing"

Sales of new energy vehicles in China continue to rise. The incremental replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles will be significantly accelerated. Affected by this, the demand for downstream supporting power batteries has grown far more than expected. A "production expansion competition" is being launched among domestic power battery manufacturers. In November 2021, AVIC Lithium Battery released at the strategic press conference that the company plans to have a production capacity of more than 500GWh in 2025 and 1TWh in 2030; in December 2021, Hive Energy announced a planned production capacity of 600GWh in 2025; in December 2021, CATL said in response to the inquiry letter of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that the company should have a design production capacity of at least 520GWh by 2025 according to the current market share.

The rapid growth of production and sales of new energy vehicles has tightened the production capacity of some power battery companies. Moderate expansion of production capacity is an inevitable choice for the development of enterprises, and it is bound to further promote the development of China's new energy automobile industry. Since 2021, China's power battery has entered a rapid expansion stage of horse racing, in addition to the head enterprises, many small and medium-sized enterprises are also trying to expand production capacity. However, enterprises planning production capacity to cope with the demand for new energy vehicles that may "blowout" in the future should be kept within a reasonable range to avoid new risks brought about by blind expansion of production capacity.

5 Policy increase, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle welcome machine

In 2021, the hydrogen energy industry was written into the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the "2035 Long-term Goals" and became one of the six future industries. In the field of transportation, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, as an important carrier for the landing of the hydrogen energy industry, have ushered in an unprecedented new opportunity for development. In August 2021, the five ministries and commissions jointly launched the fuel cell demonstration application work, approved the implementation of fuel cell vehicle demonstration application work in the three demonstration application city clusters of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, and clarified the specific mechanism of subsidies at the central level; in November, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Opinions on In-depth Fight against Pollution", proposing to promote the demonstration application of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. At the same time, local policies have frequently "increased" hydrogen energy. In 2021, 13 provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang have successively formulated policies and plans related to the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry, and have made detailed arrangements for the planning and construction of hydrogen refueling stations, the promotion and application of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and the layout of the core industrial chain.

In the context of global energy difficulties, China firmly supports the development of hydrogen energy, indicating China's attitude and determination to achieve the goal of "double carbon". With the increase of policy support, hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have gradually become one of the directions of global energy transformation and automobile power transformation, and the huge market potential has also attracted many car companies to increase the layout of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry. This will further promote the development of China's new energy automobile industry and help achieve the "double carbon" goal as soon as possible.

6 Standard upgrades, low-speed electric vehicle development to meet the turnaround

In June 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially solicited opinions on the recommended national standard "Technical Conditions for Pure Electric Passenger Cars". It mainly involves two aspects: one is to revise and update the technical conditions of the original pure electric passenger car, and the other is to increase the technical requirements for the micro low-speed pure electric passenger car, including increasing the definition of the micro low-speed pure electric passenger car and increasing the relevant technical indicators and requirements such as power, braking, outer dimensions and curb weight.

The micro low-speed pure electric passenger car will be included in the "Pure Electric Passenger Vehicle Technical Conditions" consideration, will effectively regulate and improve the product standards and quality of micro low-speed pure electric passenger cars, play a positive role in the healthy development of the micro low-speed pure electric passenger car industry, and is conducive to the full integration of it into the motor vehicle management system from production, sales to use, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of ensuring public safety.

7 Accelerate the layout, charging and replacing power stations grow rapidly

According to data from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, as of November 2021, the cumulative number of charging infrastructure in China was 2.385 million units, an increase of 55% year-on-year. From January to November 2021, the increase in China's charging infrastructure was 704,000 units, and the sales of new energy vehicles were 2.990 million units, both of which grew rapidly, and the increase in charging facilities with vehicles continued to rise, up 198.1% year-on-year. The incremental ratio of pile vehicles is 1:4.2, and the construction of charging infrastructure can basically meet the rapid development of new energy vehicles. As of November 2021, the total number of substations has reached 1192 (excluding heavy-duty truck substations), of which Wei has accumulated 500 substations in 7 months since the first second-generation substation was launched on April 15, 2021, and the number of construction in 2021 is 10 times that of 2020.

Overall, China's new energy vehicle market prospects are good, the development potential is huge, and the energy supplementation methods of new energy vehicles are diversified and scenario-based. With the rapid construction of charging stations, charging piles and other supporting facilities, the ratio of new energy vehicles and energy replenishment equipment in China has gradually become reasonable, which will further promote the development of the new energy automobile industry.

8 Optimize the mechanism and try to manage carbon allowances on a trial basis

On February 7, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Notice on Matters Related to the Average Fuel Consumption of Passenger Vehicle Enterprises and the Management of New Energy Vehicle Credits in 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the "Integral Measures"), which clarifies that in the calculation of the average fuel consumption of enterprises in 2020, the fuel consumption of models equipped with idle start-stop systems, brake energy recovery systems, and shift reminder devices can be reduced or reduced by a certain amount (cumulative); negative points for new energy vehicles generated by enterprises in 2020 For passenger car enterprises registered in Hubei Province, the negative credits for average fuel consumption and negative credits for new energy vehicles generated in 2020 can be calculated at a reduced rate of 80%.

The implementation of the "Integral Measures" will continue to improve the policies and measures for the management of carbon quotas for new energy vehicles, which is conducive to ensuring the smooth and orderly operation of the integral market, promoting the in-depth implementation of the "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)", and providing strong support for the healthy and sustainable development of China's new energy automobile industry.

9 For the first time, the first new energy new car over-fuel vehicle

In November 2021, the 2021 Guangzhou International Auto Show was officially held. According to the survey, a total of 1,020 vehicles were exhibited at the exhibition, of which 241 were new energy models, accounting for 23.6% of the total number of exhibition vehicles, an increase of 69.7% compared with the 142 new energy vehicles exhibited in the previous exhibition. Among the first new cars, 67 new cars were exhibited during the Guangzhou Auto Show, including 28 traditional power models and 39 new energy models such as EVs, PHEVs, and HE. In previous large-scale comprehensive auto shows, the number of new energy vehicles exceeded that of traditional fuel models for the first time.

After years of technology accumulation and market development, China's independent brands have launched new models in a big way and continued to enrich the new energy vehicle product line; multinational car companies have made up their minds and moved, and have also transformed their technology accumulation into market products and launched new energy series models. Market competition accelerates the transformation of car companies to new energy, and boosts the healthy and stable development of China's new energy vehicle market.

10 strength out of the circle, Hongguang MINIEV into a hit

Entering 2021, Hongguang MINIEV is even more popular! In November 2021, Hongguang MINIEV sold 45,576 units per month, and the cumulative sales volume from January to November was 333,980 units. As of November 2021, Hongguang MINIEV has topped the first place in the world's new energy vehicle sales for four times, and has firmly sat on the throne of the first sales of independent new energy vehicles. Since the launch of Hongguang MINIEV, the market potential of micro pure electric vehicles has been stimulated, and many car companies have joined this field. On December 28, 2021, Chery's iCar's first model "QQ Ice Cream" was officially launched, and the new car provided two versions of 120km endurance and 170km endurance, with a pre-price of 29,900 yuan to 43,900 yuan, benchmarking Wuling Hongguang MINIEV.

Regardless of the appearance space, or the quality and safety, Hongguang MINIEV interprets the essence of the miniature pure electric car with super high cost performance: simple transportation, without losing elegance. It satisfies the psychological expectations of young people and the elderly for daily transportation, and opens a window for the micro pure electric vehicle market.