China to dominate Asia Pacific EV sales by 2015

1

A new report from Pike Research says the Chinese EV market will have almost half of the  Asia Pacific region's sales by 2015. While other countries in the region, notably Japan, have successful programs for EV adoption, subsidies, tax incentives and research and development support, Pike says global EV industries should tap China's opportunities.

Pike says the Chinese EV market has several important implications in the global market. "China, where around 55 vendors are developing electrified vehicles or launching EV development programs, will likely create and lead an entirely new category around clean transportation," said senior analyst Andy Bae. "The country will become one of the biggest consumer markets for EVs, and global industry players want to enter this market to tap the related opportunities."

The 'Chinese challenge' has Japan, Korea and other countries with more mature EV markets worried. Japan has concentrated on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and leads the market in that segment, but China is focusing battery electric vehicles (BEVs), or "pure" electrics. Japan's relatively mature EV market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% between 2010 and 2015. Stack that up against China's expected CAGR of more than 40% in the same time frame.

And China isn't just working on BEVs. It also is aggressively developing "new energy vehicles" powered by electricity, hydrogen and clean diesel, Pike says.

You might also be interested in ...

Smaller states to lead plug-in EV adoption, report says

Electric transportation news and developments