China October 2017

BAIC EC-Series scores 11.000 units in October

The rise and rise of the Chinese PEV market is unstoppable, with yet another record performance in October, with 66.000 new passenger PEVs being registered last month, almost doubling the result of October ‘16, while pulling the YTD count to over 405.000 units, up 55% YoY.

As consequence of this, the 2017 PEV market share has crossed for the first time the 2% share, firmly ahead of last year score (1.5%). As sales are expected to grow even further until the end of the year, the Chinese PEV market might even reach the 2.5% share by year end.

This is still a highly protected market, where 94% of sales belong to domestic brands. Of the 6% left for foreign brands, 4% belong to Tesla, 1% to BMW, with the remaining 1% being divided by all other auto makers.

In October, both small city cars and compact SUV’s placed two representatives in the Top 5, with the EC-Series beating the world record for registrations in a single month, with 11.315 units, while the new 100 kms range version has given the BYD Qin PHEV a second youth, delivering 4.102 units, a new record for the nameplate.

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

 

#1 – BAIC EC-Series: I would say the 11.315 EC-Series registered in October were an historical landmark, after all it was the first time that a single model crossed into the five-digit sales, but with ever improving performances since the 2.563 units of last June, it looks that numbers will continue to go upwards until December. The little city EV is doing a revolution in China, owing its success to a trendy design, reminding that of a Crossover, improved specs (Now with 200 kms range) and competitive pricing (19.000€), all in a booming market segment. With the Chinese edition of the 2017 Best Selling PEV title already in their hands, BAIC is now looking to win the global edition of the same award, and to that end, last month it has surpassed the Big Boys (Leaf, Prius Prime and Model S), thus becoming the first Chinese model to reach #1 on the global market.

#2 – Zhidou D2 EV: Bare-basics city vehicle that continues to be delivered in large quantities (4.502 units in October), probably due to 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€. The brand has ambitious plans to market it as a car-sharing vehicle in Europe, will local consumers want to drive it?

#3 – BYD Qin PHEV: Thanks to a recently increased range (100 kms), BYD’s sports sedan (0-100 kms/h in 5.9s) recovered its mojo and had a record 4.102 registrations in October. With a competitive price (31.000$ before incentives) and full access to government incentives, sales are expected to remain high, as long as BYD manages to make enough of them, in order to satisfy demand.

#4 – BYD Song PHEV: If the Qin is the “Model 3” of BYD, the Song is the “Model Y”, a VW Tiguan-sized SUV, here in plug-in hybrid version, last month it registered 3.064 units, dropping some 700 units regarding the previous month. Is the Qin renewed success hurting the Song demand or is it just a case of production constraints? I believe the full potential of BYD’s compact SUV could be around 5.000 units/month.

#5 – JAC iEV6S: One of the EV pioneers in China, selling plug-ins since 2010, JAC is trying to regain relevance with its iEV6S, a compact Crossover (Think Kia Soul) that registered 2.861 units in October, allowing it to reach a Top 5 position last month. A vehicle targeted to hip urbanites, for a competitive 26.000$ before incentives, you get a trendy city model, with a 33kWh battery providing decent range (251 kms NEDC), and the engine has enough power (114 hp), to give it the “go” needed for their customers supposedly active life.

Roewe eRX5 is making itself noticed

 

Year-to-Date Ranking – BAIC EC-Series orders the 2017 title

In a stable market, the big news is the EC-Series (almost) definitely securing this year Best Seller title, a first for BAIC and the first time since 2013 that BYD loses the Best Selling Models award. At the time, the best seller was the Chery QQ3 EV, with 5.727 units. With two months to go, the EC-Series is now at 49.000…

To see some changes in the ranking, we have to go Fifth Place, where the JAC iEV6S climbed one position, while the BYD Qin PHEV jumped four positions to #10, surpassing among others, the stablemate BYD Tang, which dropped two positions to #12, a surprisingly low position for the 2016 Best Selling model.

On the rise is also the Roewe eRX5 BEV, jumping to #15, thanks to a record 2.811 deliveries, with other models also hitting personal records, besides the aforementioned BAIC EC-Series, BYD Qin PHEV and Roewe eRX5 BEV, three recent additions scored relevant results: The Changan Eulove EV scored 1.201 units, Hawtai registered 2.112 EV160’s and the much awaited Wuling E100 is at 1.724 units in its only third full month on the market. No production hell here…

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BYD (20%, up 1%) is comfortable at the Throne, keeping the runner-up BAIC (16%, up 1%) at a safe distance. At least for now.

In Third Place we (still) have Zhidou, with 9% share, with Roewe (9%, up 1%) closing in, with the Shanghai-based manufacturer trying to reach the podium, in its bid to become the Third of China’s “Big 3 PEV” club.

Pl	China	Oct.	YTD	%
1	BAIC EC-Series	11315	49191	12
2	Zhidou D2 EV	4502	37093	9
3	BYD Song PHEV	3064	22910	6
4	BYD e5	2386	20649	5
5	JAC iEV6S	2861	18585	5
6	Geely Emgrand EV	1742	17990	4
7	Chery eQ	1996	16762	4
8	SAIC Roewe eRX5 PHEV	1593	15042	4
9	Changan Benni EV	632	12375	3
10	BYD Qin PHEV	4102	11937	3
11	Zotye E200	2349	11612	3
12	BYD Tang	868	11329	3
13	JMC E100	246	10663	3
14	BAIC EU-Series	412	8656	2
15	SAIC Roewe eRX5 BEV	2811	7638	2
16	JMC E200	1799	7386	2
17	Tesla Model S   e)	350	6498	2
18	Tesla Model X   e)	500	6481	2
19	Zotye Cloud EV	276	5840	1
20	Kandi K12 EV	1638	5664	1
	Others	21001	100831
	TOTAL	66443	405132