China's pure electric vehicle sales fell 46% in the first four months

According to foreign media reports, a recent research report released by the German automotive management center (CAM) of the automotive market research organization shows that from January to April this year, the sales of electric vehicles in Europe have grown strongly, especially in the United Kingdom, while the German plug-in type Hybrid vehicle sales have also increased.

But at the same time, as the world's largest electric vehicle market, China's vehicle manufacturers are in a leading position in sales and innovation, but pure electric vehicle sales have been declining.

The main reason for the sales of pure electric vehicles in the first quarter of this year was the outbreak of new coronavirus. Comparing the sales of pure electric vehicles in China and Europe, it can be seen that the new crown epidemic has a great impact on the sales of pure electric vehicles, and there are significant differences in the impact.

The sales of pure electric vehicles in Europe did not decline but increased against the trend, while the sales of pure electric vehicles in China fell by 46% compared with the same period last year, which may also be related to China's lower subsidies for new energy vehicles in the middle of last year. The German Automobile Management Center report also pointed out that due to China's repeated increase in new energy vehicle subsidies and other supporting measures, China's pure electric vehicle sales are expected to rebound in the next few quarters.

However, in Europe, sales of plug-in hybrids have begun to pick up. The most striking thing is that in the UK, the sales of pure electric vehicles have increased significantly by 161%. This significant increase is comparable to government subsidies for car sales and market share in the first two quarters of 2019. In the past 12 months, the United Kingdom has promoted electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, these data may reflect. However, just this week, in response to the new crown epidemic, the British government announced a £ 2 billion bicycle and walking package plan to reduce the number of people taking public transport when returning to work. This should affect the application of electric vehicles, and the sales of electric vehicles will not necessarily reflect this.

It must be pointed out here that the CAM report only reflects the pure electric vehicle market. The report does not reflect the number of traditional diesel locomotive drivers turning to other electric vehicles, so in fact the use of electric vehicles has also increased.

The development of pure electric vehicles in France is also remarkable. From January to April this year, sales of pure electric vehicles in France increased by 97%, and the number of registrations reached 27,000. This means that in terms of electric vehicles, France is currently almost the same as Germany. The situation for plug-in hybrids is different: the registration of plug-in hybrids has also increased by 88%, but the absolute registration of plug-in hybrids has only increased from about 5,000 to about 10,000 . In December last year, France revised the subsidy system. Since then, subsidies up to 6000 euros can only be issued to pure electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles, while plug-in hybrid vehicles cannot enjoy this policy.

The growth rate of plug-in hybrid vehicles in Germany is also very high. In the first four months of this year, Germany has registered a total of 63,000 pure electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles, which has doubled from 2019. This increase was mainly driven by plug-in hybrid vehicles (plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 209%, from 10,000 to 32,000 vehicles). However, sales of pure electric vehicles have also improved, increasing by 48%, and the number of new registrations has increased from 21,000 to 31,000. CAM research attributed this to the increase in subsidies for electric vehicles at the end of February, and the increasing number of fuel cell electric vehicle models produced by German manufacturers, which are considered suitable as company vehicles.

Overall, in Europe, new registrations for electric vehicles increased by 82% in the first quarter of 2020. The market share of pure electric vehicles rose to 4.3%, and the market share of fuel cell electric vehicles reached 3.25%. According to the CAM report, compared with the same period last year, newly registered electric vehicles more than doubled in the first quarter of 2020, from 3.1% to 7.5%.

In the CAM innovation ranking, Volkswagen has caught up with Tesla. Among electric vehicle manufacturers, Tesla is still the most innovative electric vehicle manufacturer. The CAM research attributed this to the innovative strength of the company still located in California. From 2012 to 2019, this company has been leading the CAM innovation ranking. The CAM report wrote:\"However, the Volkswagen Group is catching up with Tesla in the field of electric vehicles. It has made great strides in the field of electric vehicles, leaping from second to second, surpassing the modern group that is leaping to third. \"

On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers BYD and BAIC, ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, have lost their advantages. CAM ’s current assessment of innovation strength takes into account 258 electric vehicle innovation projects from 30 automakers over the past eight years. The evaluation takes into account the importance of the vehicle and the definition of\"innovation\". For example, although Tesla has always focused on electric vehicles, BYD and Hyundai have made progress in public transportation and heavy-duty technologies, both of which have potential and are currently related to mobile travel.

Since launching Model 3 in 2017 and Model S and Model X in 2019 (Model Y counts to 2020), Tesla has proven its ability to innovate and has taken a leading position in the field of electric vehicles. Nevertheless, Volkswagen is catching up to Tesla in the field of electric vehicles with Porsche Taycan and its 800v powertrain. Hyundai Motor surpassed BYD with the upgrade of the two models of Ioniq and Kia e-Soul. Although Renault also launched a Zoe model with a 52-kWh battery pack, it still ranks fifth in the CAM ranking, behind Hyundai and BYD.

Companies such as Peugeot Citroen, Daimler and BMW have also made some innovations. However, among companies with medium performance in automotive technology innovation, GM dropped from 9th to 11th in the innovation ranking, Nissan fell from 7th to 13th, and Great Wall fell from 9th to 17th.

Stefan Bratzel, director of CAM, said: \"Obviously, some established companies have already accepted the challenge, while others still have a lot of work to do. After the new crown epidemic, the research and development of electric vehicles should be further strengthened because there are almost no cars Manufacturers can deal with different types of vehicles for a long time.