Chinese auto executives hope to take the market lead over their foreign rivals as gasoline vehicles are replaced by electric and intelligent ones. There were 5.8 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) on Chinese streets by the end of May, which is roughly half of the global total, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). In May, NEVs accounted for around 10% of new car sales in the country, and 15% of new cars sold in that month had advanced driving-assist functions. “We are leading in terms of new energy vehicles and smart vehicles,” said Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun when the carmaker revealed its ambition for 2025. The company, which is celebrating its 31st anniversary this year, estimates 80% of its sales in 2025 will be new energy vehicles, and 40% of the cars to be sold that year will have highly autonomous driving functions. The private carmaker is earmarking CNY100 billion to achieve its goals and plans to triple the number of software engineers in two years to around 10,000.
Zu Sijie, Chief Engineer of China’s largest carmaker SAIC Motor, said Chinese carmakers are on a par with international ones in terms of electric cars and they stand a chance to be the leader when it comes to smart vehicles. “Smart vehicles will be based on local environments and local data, and obviously Chinese companies have a better understanding of them,” Zu said. SAIC has revealed its goal to become a technology company focused on smart and electric vehicles, for which it has earmarked a budget of CNY300 billion by 2025. Zu said international companies took the lead in introducing the latest technology through local auto joint ventures. But Chinese companies will have an advantage as vehicles are getting smart, connected and autonomous. Li Jun, CEO of SAIC subsidiary Z-One, said the company has finished developing an electronic vehicle platform capable of Level 3 functions. A platform capable of Level 4 functions will be unveiled in 2023. Z-One has also launched a digital system similar to Google’s Android, allowing software developers to code and release carbased applications in an app store. Car owners would be able to download and install them in their vehicles, thus tailoring their vehicles to their own tastes.
Nio, a Chinese electric car startup listed in New York, sold more than 42,000 vehicles in the first half of the year. William Li, who established Nio in 2015, said China is the perfect place to make smart electric cars. “We have all the things needed, be it software, mobile internet or digitalization, and more importantly, the Chinese government has a clear ambition in terms of electrification and decarbonization,” he said. Fu Bingfeng, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, estimates that annual sales of new energy vehicles will grow at more than 40% year-on-year over the next five years. In the first five months, 950,000 NEVs were sold in China, up 220% from the same period last year, he China Daily reports.
Meanwhile, Swedish automaker Volvo unveiled its electric Recharge concept to achieve complete electrification. Volvo said that its next-generation electric cars will focus on improving range and charging speed to extend its range between charges to 1,000 km and halve charging time.
