China April 2017 (Updated)

BAIC EC180 dashboard

BAIC EC180 leads rise of Microcars

The Chinese market had more than 32.000 new EV's zooming the streets last month, a 49% increase over the same month last year, with the EV market share up to 1.2%, as the year proceeds and sales expand, expect the market share to rise above last year result (1.45%), maybe reaching North of 2%.

This is a highly protected market, where 93% of sales belong to domestic brands. Of the 7% left for foreign brands, 6% belong to Tesla, with the remaining 1% divided by all other auto makers.

If BAIC won the once again the winner on the models ranking in April, thanks to its EC180 golden boy, this time the monthly manufacturers title went to BYD, with over 6.000 units registered, which means the last year winner is back on its feet and ready to chase Beijing Auto in the race for the Best Selling manufacturer. 

Here’s April Top 5 Best Selling models individual performance:

#1 - BAIC EC180: Winning the Best Seller status for the third month in a row, this model is making a revolution on the Chinese EV market, as this is probably the first (Only?) little city EV that private buyers should be proud to have, with decent specs (eg, 20 kWh battery) and interiors/equipment for a somewhat low price (152.000 Yuan, or $22.000), the 4.352 units sold last month were a new record for the tiny EV and confirms it as the strongest candidate for this year Best Seller trophy, which would be a first for BAIC and the first time since 2013 that a BYD didn’t won the trophy.

#2 – Zhidou D2 EV: If the EC180 can be considered “cute”, the bare-basics city vehicle doesn’t inspire anyone. Nevertheless, they continue to be sold in large quantities (3.709 units in April), possibly due to a combination of bargain-basement prices and big fleet deals. This vehicle is sold as a Quadricycle (Think Renault Twizy class) in some European countries, with the following specs: 12 kWh battery, 120 kms range, 90 kms max.speed, all this for some 16.000€.

#3 – Kandi EV: A major player a while back, from 2016 Q3 to 2017 Q1 Kandi  management restricted production of EVs(1), so one would think it would see its life as an EV maker terminated. Apparently not, as the 2.586 units delivered in April were its best result in 10 months.

#3 – Geely Emgrand EV: The first true car in the ranking, by delivering 2.586 units in April, this compact sedan (Think Toyota Corolla) is set to become one of the Best Sellers of the Year. Main specs: 253 kms range, 95 hp, 250.000 Yuan (36.500$).

#5 – BYD e5: The current BYD best seller is the low key e5 sedan, that delivered a record 2.512 units last month. A favorite among taxi companies, along with its e6 older brother, the plain-Jane looking e5 actually has a lot going for it, spec-wise: 305 kms range from a 48 kWh battery and a healthy 218 hp, all for 230.000 Yuan (33.400$). A wolf in sheep’s clothing, isn’t it?

JAC i EV 5

Year-to-Date Ranking – Geely and BYD reach the podium

Below the top two positions there was a lot to talk about, with the Geely Emgrand EV and BYD e5 jumping to the podium, followed by the Kandi EV, now in Fifth Place, confirming the renewed success of tiny EV’s here.

A reference for the JAC iEV5, jumping into the Top 20 at #13, thanks to a record 1.670 deliveries in April. Was it a one time thing or will it be something to go on in the future?

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BAIC (19%, down 4%) is seeing its leadership under threat, now followed by a recovering BYD (16%), with Zhidou now in third Place, with 10% share.

Pl	China	April	YTD	%
1	BAIC EC180	4.352	11.481	12
2	Zhidou D2 EV	3.709	9.508	10
3	Geely Emgrand EV	2.586	4.489	5
3	BYD e5	2.512	4.489	5
5 6 7 8	Kandi K17 EV BYD Tang JMC E100 BAIC EU260	2.586 1.534 1.222 475	4.485 4.340 4.181 3.996	5 5 5 4
9	SAIC Roewe eRX5	580	3.797	4
10	Zotye E200	1.129	3.295	4
11	Tesla Model X e)	500	3.264	4
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	BYD Qin EV300 JAC iEV 5 SAIC Roewe e550 JMC E200 BAIC EX200 Tesla Model S e) Chery eQ BYD e6 Changan Benni EV Others	639 1.670 111 603 580 200 1.049 821 609 4.884	2.685 2.677 2.449 2.297 2.277 2.235 2.169 2.080 2.017 14.557	3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
	TOTAL Market	32.351	92.768	100

(1) - According to an information of an insider source: "From 2016 Q3 to 2017 Q1 Kandi management restricted production of EVs.  This was unrelated to the subsidy investigation and directly related to the delay by the PRC in reimbursing PRC mandated subsidies to all EV manufacturers, that those manufacturers had previously advanced to buyers.  The PRC owed subsidies from July 2015 onward.  Since Kandi only manufactures EVs all of its revenue has a subsidy component.  Kandi was effectively lending the PRC government about $7,000 with every EV it sold.  This resulted in a dangerous cash flow situation".

On the previous mention of "fraud", the same source explains:  "(In 2016) over 80 companies were implicated as having infringements, and that was about 90% of all NEV manufacturers.  This included BYD and all the other major manufacturers including Kandi  No serious penalties resulted from these infringements which were largely due to ambiguities in the subsidies law.  There was no suggestion of fraud by the PRC government. 

In Kandi's case the problem was due to its 2013/14 models being designed for quick battery exchange with 2 in the car and 2 in the charging rack.  This was a PRC government approved system, that they called Kandi Mode.  In 2016 subsidy inspectors determined it was not compatible with current subsidy law that required all batteries to be in the car and battery ID #s to match the records at the date of sale.  The problem was fixed to the satisfaction of inspectors in March 2016 but that left Kandi in the list of companies with infringements.  Since the fix was achieved in 2016 the PRC determined that the 2013/14 models qualified for subsidies at the 2016 rate."