China August 2017

Record Month

A record 55.000 new passenger EV's were registered last month in China, with the market growing 68% regarding the same month last year and pulling the YTD count to over 282.000 units, up 45% YoY.

As consequence of all this, the PEV market share grew once again, this time to 1.8%, now firmly ahead of last year record (1.5%), as sales are expected to grow even further until the end of the year, the Chinese PEV market is sure to surpass the 2% share by year end, maybe even reaching 2.5%.

This is still a highly protected market, where 94% of sales belong to domestic brands. Of the 7% left for foreign brands, 4% belong to Tesla, 1% to BMW, and the remaining 1% divided by all other auto makers.

In August, small city cars were all the rage, with the EC-Series winning the best-selling award, with over 6.700 deliveries (A new record), beating the Zhidou D2 EV, while the Kandi K17 joined this month Top 5.

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

#1 – BAIC EC-Series: A consistent seller this year, the BAIC EC-Series, formerly known as EC180, sold 6.726 units in August, a new all-time record for a single model in China, with the little city EV deliveries surging last month, owing its success to a trendy design, reminding that of a Crossover, improved specs (Now with 200 kms range) and competitive price (19.000€). Will it be enough to win the 2017 Best Seller award? If it happens, it would be a first for BAIC and the first time since 2013 that a BYD wouldn’t win the trophy.

 

#2 – Zhidou D2 EV: Bare-basics city vehicle that doesn’t inspire anyone, but continues to be delivered in record quantities (5.018 units in August), probably due to big fleet deals. This vehicle is sold as a Quadricycle (Think Renault Twizy) 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 – BYD Song PHEV: This is BYD’s “Model Y”, a VW Tiguan-sized SUV, here in plug-in hybrid version (The BEV had 1.200 deliveries last month, its second full sales month), it registered 4.194 units, dropping some 900 units regarding the previous month. Production constraints or is demand fading? I believe the full potential of this version should be around 5-6.000 units/month, adding some 3-4.000 units from the BEV version, and should be enough to have the Song to the tune of 10.000 units/month, both versions counted.

#4 – Geely Emgrand EV: Geely’s sedan had a year best performance in August, with 4.114 units registrations. Improved specs (300 kms range) and equipment without hurting too much the final price (29.500$), helped it to pull sales up, but it remains to be seen if it will be able to match its personal best, achieved last December (6.023 units).

#5 – Kandi K17: The five door Kandi delivered 3.213 units in August, allowing it to reach the Top 5. A popular choice among car-sharing companies, for 24.800$ before incentives, you get a fairly spacious city car (Think Renault Zoe-sized), with the 20kWh battery providing enough range, with the major drawback being the weak engine (48 hp).

 

  

YTD Ranking – Beijing Auto EC-Series back at Number One

The big news was of course the BAIC EC-Series returning to the top spot, but the last place of the podium also changed hands, with the BYD Song PHEV climbing to Third, being at the same time the Best Selling SUV and PHEV in the ranking.

The Geely Emgrand EV jumped to Fifth Place, while the Roewe eRX5 PHEV stumbled to #8, scoring its worst result since February (1201 units), being inclusively outsold by its just arrived BEV sibling (1580 units). A case of internal competition?

One thing is certain, the BEV Roewe eRX5 is one mighty opponent, and not just for its PHEV sibling.

A reference for the Kandi K17 surging to #13, while the BYD Qin PHEV returned to the Top 20, thanks to 2178 deliveries, its best result in 11 months, making it five BYD’s in the Top 20.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BYD (20%, down 1%) is stable its position at the Throne, keeping the previous leader BAIC (15%, down 2%) at a safe distance.

In Third Place we have Zhidou, with 10% share, with SAIC in its tail (9%), with the Shanghai-based manufacturer aiming to surpassing it soon, in its bid to become the Third of China’s “Big 3 PEV” club.

  

Pl	China	August	YTD	%
1	BAIC EC-Series	6726	28733	10
2	Zhidou D2 EV	5018	27507	10
3	BYD Song PHEV	4194	16101	6
4	BYD e5	2093	15865	6
5	Geely Emgrand EV	4114	13811	5
6	JAC iEV6S	2603	12703	4
7	Chery eQ	2245	12114	4
8	SAIC Roewe eRX5 PHEV	1201	12012	4
9	Changan Benni EV   e)	2122	9831	3
10	BYD Tang	860	9339	3
11	JMC E100	1147	8724	3
12	Zotye E200	866	8096	3
13	Kandi K17   e)	3213	8018	3
14	BAIC EU-Series	1196	8010	3
15	Tesla Model S   e)	700	5995	2
16	Tesla Model X   e)	1000	5664	2
17	JMC E200	809	5047	2
18	Zotye Cloud EV	114	4880	2
19	BYD Qin EV300	256	4518	2
20	BYD Qin PHEV	2178	4166	1
	Others	12165	61566
	TOTAL	54820	282700