Accelerating the development of the global new energy vehicle industry (international perspective) China has increasingly become an important force for industry transformation and upgrading

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

Core reading

At present, the development of the global new energy vehicle industry has entered the fast lane, the research and development and application of new products and technologies have been accelerated, and technological innovation has driven the continuous upgrading of the industry. As an important force leading the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, China actively participates in international cooperation in the field of new energy vehicles and contributes to the development of the new energy automobile industry.

At the 2022 Paris International Motor Show held recently, nearly 100 companies in the field of new energy vehicles from electrification and hydrogen fuel to in-vehicle technology and intelligent mobility showed their latest products. Seizing the opportunity of new energy development has become the common choice of world-renowned car companies. The analysis believes that the international community should continue to work together to accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry and build a safer, more stable and win-win industrial ecology.

The market share has increased rapidly

During the G20 Bali Summit, SAIC-GM-Wuling launched the Air ev, a new energy vehicle used as the official car of the summit, to escort green travel. It is estimated that during the 12-day summit guarantee period, 300 Air EVs can reduce carbon emissions by a total of about 33 tons.

Air EV is the first Chinese new energy vehicle in the Indonesian market, which officially rolled off the production line in August this year in the Indonesian Wuling Motors Industrial Park, and orders have exceeded 4,500 units since its launch, becoming the highest monthly sales of new energy vehicles in Indonesia. Erlanga Hartato, Minister of Economic Coordination of Indonesia, said: "Wuling brings the latest products and technologies to Indonesia, which will promote the transformation of the entire Indonesian automotive industry chain from product development, manufacturing and market, and lead the new concept of Indonesian automobile travel. ”

With longer cruising range, more model choices, and more innovative intelligent network and autonomous driving functions, the market competitiveness of global new energy vehicles has been continuously improved. According to the International Energy Agency, global electric vehicle sales in 2021 nearly doubled year-on-year to 6.6 million units, accounting for 10% of all new car sales. In 2021, there were five times as many EV models available on the market as in 2015, and there are currently around 450 EV models. According to the latest data from the CleanTechnica website, in September 2022, the number of new energy vehicle registrations worldwide reached 1.04 million, a year-on-year increase of 51%, which is also the first time that the indicator has exceeded 1 million; From January to September, the cumulative sales of electric vehicles worldwide exceeded 6.8 million, with a market share of 13%.

China's new energy vehicle industry has developed rapidly, ranking first in the world in production and sales for seven consecutive years. According to the latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in the first three quarters of 2022 reached 4.717 million and 4.567 million units, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 120% and 110%, and a market share of 23.5%. During the same period, China's exports of new energy vehicles reached 389,000 units, a year-on-year increase of more than double.

In the European market, affected by unfavorable factors such as inflation, energy crisis, and poor supply chain, automobile sales fell by 14% in the first half of this year, but new energy vehicle sales in the same period were 1.12 million units, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%, and the market performance was eye-catching. In the U.S. market, EVs accounted for 6.1% of total vehicle sales from approximately 2.2% in the third quarter of 2020. In South Korea, exports of new energy vehicles in the third quarter increased by 42.3% year-on-year to US$4.047 billion, while imports increased by 29.3% year-on-year to US$1.791 billion, a record high.

Consulting firm McKinsey said: "Over the past 10 years, the new energy automobile industry has attracted more than $400 billion in investment. All of these funds are aimed at companies and start-ups related to e-mobility, connected cars and autonomous driving technology. Reuters expects major global automakers to invest $1.2 trillion in electric vehicles by 2030.

Support policies continue to exert force

The International Energy Agency's report points out that the rapid development of new energy vehicles is due to a variety of factors, of which sustained policy support from various countries is the main reason. Under urgent climate goals, many countries have signaled policies to strengthen green transportation. Statistics show that in 2021, the global relevant subsidies and public incentive funds will be about 30 billion US dollars, doubling year-on-year.

The European Parliament recently adopted the "Carbon Reduction 55" package, which stipulates that the sale of new fuel vehicles, including hybrid vehicles, will be stopped in the EU from 2035. Norway plans to stop selling fuel vehicles in 2025, becoming the first country to completely ban the sale of fuel vehicles. The French government recently announced that it will increase the subsidy for low-income families to buy electric vehicles from 6,000 euros to 7,000 euros, and is also considering an electric vehicle rental subsidy program. In September, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a strategic roundtable on the automotive industry, proposing a series of goals for the development of new energy vehicles, such as producing 3.3 million new energy vehicles by 2030, investing more than 95 trillion won (1 yuan about 185.03 won) in the automotive industry from 2022 to 2026, and cultivating 30,000 future automotive professionals by 2030.

Emerging market countries are also increasing their efforts to promote new energy vehicles. The Thai government has proposed that by 2025, all vehicles procured by government agencies and public fleets should be zero-emission vehicles, and 15% of new vehicles produced locally should be zero-emission vehicles; By 2030, 30% of new cars will be zero-emission vehicles; By 2035, all new vehicles will be zero-emission. The Indonesian government has proposed to accelerate the electrification of official vehicles of central and local government departments, and increase the number of electric vehicles in government official vehicles to more than 100,000 by the end of this year. The Ethiopian government has announced that imported and assembled electric vehicles will be exempt from VAT, excise and additional taxes, and import duties will be further reduced.

The construction of new energy vehicle infrastructure in various countries is also continuing to follow. As of August, China has built 3.98 million charging piles and 1,625 swap stations, forming the world's largest charging and swapping network. By the end of this year, China plans to achieve full coverage of basic charging services in highway service areas except for cold and high altitude areas. By the end of next year, qualified ordinary national and provincial trunk highway service areas (stations) will be able to provide basic charging services.

The UK government released its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy in March, which proposes to invest at least £1.6 billion to expand the charging network, with plans to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations tenfold to 300,000 by 2030. The German government announced that it will continue to provide 5.5 billion euros in subsidies for the construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure by 2024.

Strengthen international exchanges and cooperation

According to the International Energy Agency's latest Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2022, global electric vehicle sales will account for more than 30% of total global vehicle sales in 2030, based on adhering to current climate policies. Despite the optimistic outlook, there is still a gap with climate goals. "We urgently need to introduce state-of-the-art low-carbon transport solutions. Harnessing the power of regional and international cooperation to promote low-carbon transport action globally. UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.

The analysis pointed out that with the accelerated development of the global automotive industry towards electrification, intelligence and networking, it is necessary to carry out cross-border integration with new technologies, new materials, electronic power, advanced manufacturing and other fields, and also requires countries to strengthen technological innovation cooperation and promote the coordinated development of the industrial chain and supply chain.

In April this year, the first overseas factory of the Chinese company CATL in Thuringia, Germany, officially obtained the license to produce 8 GWh of batteries. Recently, CATL announced that it will cooperate with Mercedes-Benz to build a second European plant in Hungary. HBIS Group signed an agreement with BMW Group to introduce "green steel" technology with lower carbon emissions into the automotive sector. The head of BMW Group said: "China is a hot land to promote the ultra-large-scale application of emerging technologies, and if a technology is scaled in China, it can be applied on a large scale around the world, and we have witnessed this in the development of new energy vehicles." ”

From Europe to the Middle East and Latin America, China's new energy vehicles stand out in more and more countries and regions, not only promoting local energy conservation and emission reduction, but also providing opportunities for exchanges and mutual learning in the automotive industry. In the city of Bogotá, Colombia, 1,480 BYD electric buses will be in operation by the end of this year, which means that 94,300 tons of carbon dioxide will be reduced per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 42,000 private cars. The Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, said: "Chinese electric buses have made an important contribution to the construction of a clean and sustainable Bogotá and the modernization of local transportation. ”

People's Daily (Version 17, 01 December 2022)