China's Electric Vehicle Industry Surpasses Or Surprises

At 14:00 on November 6th, the sixth floor of the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center was filled with seats. Leaders, experts and scholars of thousands of auto companies from home and abroad are listening to the keynote speeches and trying to grasp the government’s attitude towards the development of the electric vehicle industry. A car company executive told the author: "The government's support has determined the electric vehicle market in China."

On the other side, a 30,000-square-meter one-story conference hall showcases electric vehicle products and technologies from vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers. Mainstream domestic and foreign automakers are on the scene, which makes the 25th world pure electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle. In a sense, the assembly of fuel cell vehicles is more like the stage of self-advocacy for auto companies: the commercial atmosphere is strong and the technical characteristics are vague.

Academic conference commercialization

According to the official data of the Shenzhen Electric Vehicles Conference, the exhibition attracted a total of more than 60 auto companies and 360 related companies to participate, exhibiting more than 200 electric vehicles. The compact layout of the venue, the sales pitch of technicians, the curiosity of the audience and the noisy environment like the job fair site can not help but remind people of the Beijing International Automobile Exhibition in April this year. It is also in China. It is also these vehicles and The only difference between the component manufacturers and the manufacturers is that the days of mass production at the exhibition are far behind and the core technology is mysterious.

"How much is this electric car?" "I'm sorry, I can't be sure yet." "When will it be able to sell in the market?" "Sorry, we haven't received a notice yet." The above dialogue was held at the Shenzhen Electric Vehicle Conference. It is not uncommon for most car manufacturers to answer questions that consumers are most concerned about. Of course, this is not the mistake of car companies, but consumers do not understand that this 30,000-square-meter space is only a platform for automakers to display their products. It is a base for mutual observation and propaganda. The general public is merely a bystander. In this way, the synchronized forums and keynotes are more like an aid. In a three-day interview, the author discovered that the press conferences of auto companies are mostly self-propaganda in another form, and they focus on core technologies and mass production. The problem avoided and the scene was deserted.

For the current electric car industry, Zheng Yumin, president of Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd., has repeatedly said in public: "Electric vehicles are unaware of what they are saying. The general enthusiasm of auto companies in fact reflects two mentalities: multinational car companies regard the Chinese market as an experimental place for the operation and development of electric vehicles; domestic auto makers focus on reducing the number of foreign cars in the emerging field of electric vehicles. The gap, while fighting for government policy and financial support. At the same time, in the face of China, the world’s largest automotive sales nation, it is particularly important for all vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers to seize market opportunities in the electric vehicle field.

According to Fu Yuwu, executive vice chairman of the China Association of Automotive Engineers, compared to the 24th World Electric Vehicle Conference held in Denmark last year, the conference has expanded the exhibition area by 9 times and the exhibitor model has increased by 20 times. The entire vehicle manufacturer has participated. In addition, there are nearly 60 electric vehicles in the parade. The scene is spectacular.

Redefining the gap between China and foreign countries

I do not know since when the industry formed a "China's electric vehicle industry is expected to achieve 'curve overtaking'" argument, many people are optimistic about the status quo and development of electric vehicles in China: First, that China in the field of new energy vehicles and Foreign car companies stand on the same starting line and can fully realize “bending overtaking”; secondly, as long as national policies give real support and subsidies, electric vehicles can be widely promoted within 10 years.

At the Shenzhen Electric Vehicle Conference, many industry experts expressed completely different views. Fu Yuwu said that the development of the electric vehicle industry has no corners at all. The technical catch-up of China's electric vehicles needs to be explored and steadily progressed. Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, also believes that at present, China's electric cars and the world's giants are not at the same starting line, nor can they achieve overtaking in a short time. In the field of electric vehicles, there is still a big gap between the technology and products of Chinese companies and the traditional car companies in Europe and America.

At present, GM’s Chevrolet Volenda has been listed in the United States, Nissan’s speech is also about to enter the Chinese market, and China’s mass production of electric vehicles has not seen improvement, which has to lead people to think.

Wang Binggang, head of the supervision team of major projects for new energy vehicles under the National 863 Program, said that in terms of the technology of electric vehicles, different countries have different focuses: China's fuel cell technology is relatively advanced, and hybrid power technology is superior to Japan and electric power. In the individual technical aspects of the car, Germany’s motor technology leads the world and Japan’s batteries are doing better. However, technology is only the foundation, not the only decisive factor. In the development of the electric vehicle industry, markets, policies and supporting facilities are indispensable.

Ye Shengji, Assistant Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told the author: “We still recommend that automobile companies that have achieved good results in traditional automobiles develop electric vehicles and need a certain foundation and experience to make this new industry a success.” Beijing Institute of Technology Sun Fengchun, deputy principal and director of the National Engineering Laboratory for Electric Vehicles, also pointed out that as foreign companies have stronger technological development and innovation capabilities, and the markets for electric vehicles in Europe and the United States are mature, if they concentrate their efforts, electric vehicles will do faster than us. The development of electric vehicles in China needs to be steadily advanced.

In fact, the traditional automobile markets in Europe and the United States and other countries are more mature than in China. Today, when they have basically achieved the universalization of automobiles, China’s per capita vehicle occupancy rate is still relatively low. Although this is an opportunity for the future development of China’s automobile industry, it is To a certain extent, it also proves that at the moment, when Chinese consumers fail to meet the basic needs of a car or a car, it is difficult for them to have the ability to join the electric car.

According to the China Investment Advisors' report, in 2009, there were about 1,500 new lithium battery companies in China, but only 100 actually active in the market, which means that more capital is used to hype concepts. Instead of practical investment. At present, the phenomenon that domestic auto companies get together to develop electric vehicles may not be the result of “curve passing”, but may also be only a momentary false prosperity. The future direction still needs to rely on the development of the market, and ultimately it will be successful. Those companies that are committed to technical research and development will soon narrow the gap with foreign companies and develop electric vehicle products that are in line with the Chinese market and Chinese characteristics and truly serve ordinary consumers.