China – December 2014 & Full Year
In 2013, sales of new energy vehicles had stayed below 0,1 % of the Chinese passenger car market, with little or no growth during the year, far below the ambitious targets in policies and plans. January 2014 saw the take-off for what became more than a threefold increase in plug-in vehicle volume. The development coincided with the sales start of the Kandi EV minicar and the BYD Qin EV sedan, later in the year joined by Zotye, Tesla and the BAIC E-Seris EV. All these new models were among the top-10 when 2014 was summed up. China became the fastest growing market for electrically chargeable vehicles worldwide, both, by %-increase and by absolute numbers. It has passed Japan as the 2nd largest market for plug-ins in 2014, after the US.
Low cost EVs unique for China
We include car-based Low Speed Vehicles (LSV) into the EV totals because of their significance in China. CAAM does not include Kandi and Chery QQ3 in their listings. Size-wise, they fit into the A-segment, but have a top speed below 80 km/h. The Kandi EVs are the most popular LSVs, with over 11000 units sold 2014. Together with ca 8000 units for the QQ3 EV, it shows the significance of these very affordable entries for EV adoption in China. They receive the incentives of faster cars and stood for 33% of plug-in vehicle sales in China 2014.
Sales of plug-in hybrids (PHEV) multiplied during 2014, solely by the BYD Qin, which started in December 2013 and sold 14800 units during 2014. PHEVs stood for 28 % of plug-in vehicle volume 2014.
On Heavy vehicles: We do not include heavy busses and trucks in our totals. They stand for another 20900 units for 2014, most of them are busses.
The Champions for December and for 2014
The revised BAIC E-Series EV, formerly called E150 EV had a strong start in autumn and was the best selling plug-in vehicle in December.
The BYD Qin Plug-in Hybrid, a mid-size sedan, became a instant success. It offers 70 km all-electric-range, brisk performance, space, comfort and high equipment standard, for a price of 190k Yuan onwards, before subsidies. The central government grants 35k Yuan, the Shenzhen region (where it's made) contributes another 35k. With a price of ca 120k Yuan after subsidies it is probably the best new-car deal on the planet.
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