China May 2017

SAIC Roewe eRX5

Zhidou D2 EV #1 in May

The Chinese market had more than 40.000 new EV's zooming the streets last month, a 49% increase over the same month last year, with the EV market share now at 1.4%, close to last year record (1.45%), expect that as the year progresses and sales expand, the Chinese PEV market could surpass the 2% share.

This is a highly protected market, where 94% of sales belong to domestic brands. Of the 7% left for foreign brands, 5% belong to Tesla, with the remaining 1% divided by all other auto makers.

In May the Zhidou D2 EV was the best-selling model, but BAIC’s golden boy, the EC180, continues ahead of the YTD ranking, while BYD, with over 8.000 units registered in May, is stepping up the pace and chasing the leader Beijing Auto in the race for the Best Selling manufacturer. 

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

#1 – Zhidou D2 EV: Bare-basic city vehicle doesn’t inspire anyone, but surely continues to be delivered in record quantities (4.471 units in May), probably thanks to 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€.

#2 - BAIC EC180: After three consecutive Best Seller trophies, the EC180 sales dropped 10% regarding the previous month, with “only” 3.895 units being delivered. Has the little city EV found its natural sales level around 4.000 units per month? If so, it would be a little disappointing, as this is a car has decent design, specs (eg, 20 kWh battery) and price (19.000€), which would make it the strongest candidate for the Best Seller trophy, which would be a first for BAIC and the first time since 2013 that a BYD didn’t won the trophy.

#3 – BYD e5: The current BYD best seller is the low key e5 sedan, that delivered another record performance, with 3.131 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?

#4 – Geely Emgrand EV: While Geely is busy buying everything that moves (Proton, Lotus…) looking to become a sort of Chinese Volkswagen Group, with multiple brands under the same stable, that hasn’t stopped it from delivering 3.015 units of its EV model in May, a year best, with this compact sedan (Think Toyota Corolla) set to become one of the Best Sellers of the Year. Main specs: 253 kms range, 95 hp, 250.000 Yuan (36.500$).

#5 – JAC iEV6S: A vehicle in the intersection of the two hottest trends in China, Crossovers and EV’s, success seemed to escape it due to battery production constraints, but with a record 2.572 deliveries last month, those days seem to be a thing of the past, so expect this Nissan Juke-sized Crossover to be a frequent sight here in the coming months, not only it has an attractive design, inside and out, but also decent specs: 114 hp, 251 kms range coming from a 33 kWh battery provided by Samsung.

 

Chery eQ1

Year-to-Date Ranking – BAIC vs BYD

Below the top two positions were a few changes, with the JAC iEV6S jumping to #7, while the Changan Benni EV also climbed in the ranking, up to #12, thanks to a record delivery of 2.269 units.

Other models also had record performances, like the Chery eQ1, allowing it to join the ranking and close the Top 20, thanks to a record 1.660 registrations, while the Horki 300E sedan delivered a best ever 836 units, also enabling it to enter the Top 20, at #18.

A reference for the 2.068 deliveries of the BYD Song PHEV in its full deliveries month, a result that bodes well for the upcoming “Dynasty” clan (Song BEV, Yuan PHEV, Yuan BEV), sure to arrive in the next few months.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BAIC (18%, down 1%) is seeing its leadership under threat, now followed by a recovering BYD (17%, up 1%), with less than 2.000 units separating both brands, BYD can already surpass Beijing Auto in June.

In Third Place we have  Zhidou, with 10% share, closely followed by SAIC (9%).

Pl	China	May	YTD	%
1	BAIC EC180	3.895	15.376	11
2	Zhidou D2 EV	4.471	13.979	10
3	SAIC Roewe eRX5	1.879	7.664	6
4	BYD e5	3.131	7.620	6
5 6 7 8	Geely Emgrand EV BYD Tang JAC iEV6S JMC E100	3.015 1.589 2.572 802	7.504 5.929 5.196 4.983	6 4 4 4
9	Kandi K17 EV	4	4.489	3
10	Zotye E200	1.086	4.381	3
11	BAIC EU260	1.010	4.358	3
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Changan Benni EV Tesla Model X e) BYD Qin EV300 Chery eQ BAIC EX200 JMC E200 Horki 300E BYD e6 Chery eQ1 Others	2.269 850 839 970 780 601 836 652 1.660 7.807	4.286 4.114 3.524 3.139 3.057 2.898 2.763 2.732 2.695 24.097	3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
	TOTAL Market	40.718	134.784	100

Editor note: Some models data were changed regarding the previous month.