Tiny and bordering on the whimsical, a new generation of small electric cars is providing a bit of spark in the so-far undercharged market for green autos in China.
These pint-sized rides — think an electrified version of the car Milo rode around in “The Phantom Tollbooth“ or a slightly skinnier version of a Smart car — are proving increasingly popular with Chinese looking for a cheap, green car to zip around town.
To be sure, sales of such cars are still very modest. The two bestselling brands in the category — the Chery QQ3-EV and the Zotye E20 — sold just under 6,000 cars each in the first 10 months of this year, according to data from Yale Zhang, managing director of consultancy Automotive Foresight. Still, he said, such minisize EVs account for around 70% of the market during the period, up from 54% in 2013.
In the first nine months of this year, fewer than 40,000 electric vehicles were sold in China, according to data from the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Around three quarters of these were passenger cars. By comparison, around 14.2 million conventional passenger cars were sold in the period.
China needs all the help it can get if it wants to reach its ambitious targets it set for new energy vehicles, which include pure electric and hybrid vehicles.
In a bid to ease pollution, reduce dependency on imported oil as well as give a leg up to its own car industry, China wants half a million such vehicles– passenger cars, trucks and buses—on the road by next year and 10 times that by the end of the decade. Analysts estimate the current total number of electric vehicles in operation at around 80,000.
Despite generous government incentives, green cars haven’t taken off to the degree the government would like. Many buyers worry over where and how to charge new-energy vehicles. Others are holding back because of a lack of exciting EVs on the market or because of the high price tags of many green cars relative to conventional gasoline-run ones—even when subsidies are factored in.
Enter the mini EVs.
These petite cars typically have smaller batteries than medium or large sized EVs, but they can still drive for distances of between 80 to 120 kilometers and achieve speeds of around 100 to 120 kilometers per hour. Many are two seaters, but there are also four seater and one-seater models in this category.
Mr. Zhang described the segment as the most important for the EV sector in terms of sales and said their popularity is a reflection of the cars’ affordability and driving ranges. Many consumers already own gasoline-engine cars and purchase mini EVs as a second or even third set of wheels, he said.
Meanwhile, dealers add that recent university graduates and young couples as key buyers of mini EVs.
At the recent Guangzhou auto show, Lin Xing, a 40-year old trading company employee in the southern province of Guangdong, was checking out a two-seater ZD brand EV emblazoned with a cartoonish image of a motorcycle. “It’s so cute,” he said. “My wife will really like it.” Mr. Lin said he likes the price and is considering it as a second family car, suitable for running errands.
ZD-brand cars manufactured by Chinese company Xin Da Yang under license from car maker Zotye. Other models on exhibit nearby included Chinese brand Dongfeng’s E30 as well as Daimler AG’s Smart Fortwo and the Renault Twizy.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/02/mini-electric-cars-give-a-jolt-to-chinas-market-for-green-autos//tab/print/
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