16 | Monday, August 2, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY 10 | Wednesday, March 6, 2019 CHINA DAILY

Firms to help European EV ambitions

By LI FUSHENG end of the decade. It said the [email protected] investment will make its battery plant the first gigafactory in Chinese battery China’s dominance France. makers are expanding their pres- of the industry is to “The battery plant is the begin- ence in Europe to support the ning of our cooperation. We will ambitions of native governments be expected given its have comprehensive strategic and carmakers in electrification. huge investments cooperation with Renault, includ- Last year, 1.39 million electric ing green factories, zero-carbon cars and plug-in hybrids were sold and the policies the technology, and the deployment of in the European Union; more than country has smart-charging infrastructure in those sold in China, the world’s Europe. This is just a starting largest single market for such implemented over point,” said Envision Group CEO vehicles. the past decade.” Zhang Lei. This momentum is expected to Earlier this month, Envision continue in the coming years as James Frith, BloombergNEF’s said it would make another invest- car giants, including Volkswagen head of energy storage ment of 423 million pounds ($576 and Daimler, have revealed a mas- million) to build a gigafactory in sive shift toward electrification the United Kingdom. and EU governments are imposing cell factory layout, machinery and This would be part of a flagship stricter rules on gasoline vehicles. production processes,” said the EV hub project with Japanese car- However, as Europe’s battery group that owns brands including maker . The move further sector cannot meet the demand Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. expands its presence in Europe as for electric vehicles, Chinese bat- “Europe is trying to catch up in the continent ramps up produc- tery makers have stepped in to fuel terms of battery technology. But, tion to achieve battery independ- BMW displays its electric model, the iX3, at the Nanjing auto show in October 2020. the continent’s electrification compared with Asian countries, it ence and embrace the EV boom. wang luxian / for china daily drive. is lagging behind. So local carmak- Zhang said the first phase of CATL started production on a ers and governments would like to development in Europe will manufacturing facility in the Ger- invite competent companies over unlock future large-scale invest- man state of Thuringia in 2019. to help boost the sector,” said Roy ment to grow the local supply Local production of battery Lu, a Gotion executive. chain and develop the whole life modules will start later this year Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert cycle opportunities of batteries. NEV users to get better and battery cells will roll out in the Diess said: “This is only one step This includes energy storage, bat- second half of 2022, said Li Wei, a toward our aim to become, togeth- tery reuse, smart charging and CATL representative. He said er with partners, one of the top closed loop recycling. CATL’s customers include BMW, three battery cell manufacturers As Europe is going electric, EU Daimler, Volkswagen, Stellantis worldwide.” governments are making heavy customer protection and Volvo. He said Volkswagen is excited to investments to expand their “Top Chinese battery makers are extend its partnership with capacity in the EV battery sector, world-leading in terms of prod- Gotion. Last year, Volkswagen which has been dominated by ucts, technology and quality,” said decided to acquire a 26 percent Asian players, mainly from China Manufacturers required to assume greater may occur when the bottom of the Li when asked about why Europe- share of the battery maker. and South Korea. vehicle is affected by an abnormal an carmakers favor Chinese com- Volkswagen said it hopes Gotion “China’s dominance of the liability for components that are faulty impact or several jolting. panies. will help reduce battery complexi- industry is to be expected given its The vehicles may have He said some Chinese battery ty and costs while boosting ranges huge investments and the policies design flaws and the recall is main- makers own stakes in the mines of and charging performance in the country has implemented over By ZHANG DANDAN ly due to loose parts, said Zhang raw materials and thus can ensure order to make electric cars more the past decade,” said James Frith, [email protected] 6.03 Xiang, a researcher at the automo- supplies. attractive. BloombergNEF’s head of energy million bile industry innovation research Statistics show that five out of The group expects half of its storage. China, the world’s largest new new energy vehicles on center of North China University of the top 10 battery makers by sales sales to be electric cars by 2030 After years of slow progress, energy vehicle market, is taking Chinese roads as of June 2021, Technology. volume in 2020 were Chinese. and nearly all its new vehicles in there are now plans to invest 40 steps to improve NEV aftersales according to China’s Ministry of Big changes may be carried out CATL was No 1 globally by selling major markets to be zero-emis- billion euros ($47 billion) in 38 service with updated regulations Public Security by Chery to the recalled vehicles, lithium-ion batteries totaling sions by 2040. European factories that could turn regarding liability for returns, which may involve the dismantling 44.45 gigawatt-hours, a title it has Another Chinese company, out 1,000 GWh of batteries per repairs and replacements — the of the battery pack, Zhang added. held since 2017. Envision AESC, is looking to accel- year, according to Transport & “three guarantees” policy, which premise of the rapid growth of NEV There have been a number of Chinese battery maker Gotion erate its expansion in Europe. Environment, a non-governmen- were introduced last week. ownership, and is a necessary vehicle recalls recently due to pow- High-Tech will help Volkswagen It announced in late June it is to tal organization. To take effect from Jan 1, 2022, measure to protect the legitimate er battery issues. produce battery cells at the car- build a $2.4 billion battery plant in “The next decade will be partic- the updated regulations include rights and interests of NEV custom- In late May, BMW Brilliance maker’s plant in Salzgitter, Germa- France to supply carmaker Ren- ularly interesting as Europe and significant amendments with ers, according to analysts. recalled 6,636 China-made iX3 EVs ny. ault. Envision aims to produce 9 the US try to create their own bat- regard to companies’ responsibili- Statistics from China’s Ministry produced between Sept 1, 2020 and Production is expected to start GWh of batteries in 2024 and 24 tery champions to challenge Asian ties to customers regarding faulty of Public Security show that as of April 30, 2021, due to a design prob- in 2025. Gotion, headquartered in GWh by 2030 in France. incumbents who are already NEVs. June 2021, China had 6.03 million lem in the vehicle’s battery control Hefei, Anhui province, will serve It also pledged to create 1,000 building capacity in both places,” Power batteries and motors are NEVs on its roads, accounting for unit software. as a technology partner “for the local jobs by 2024 and 2,500 by the Frith said. included in the new regulations as 2.06 percent of the country’s total BMW Brilliance announced that main auto parts, and will enjoy the number of vehicles. it will upgrade the battery control Short Torque same warranty rights as the Side by side with rapid growth, unit software for the recalled vehi- engines and transmissions of gaso- the safety of NEVs has aroused con- cles for free via an over-the-air line vehicles. cern. update, allowing users to complete Electric startups face According to the updated regula- According to the State Adminis- the software upgrade without visit- stock troubles tions, within seven days from the tration for Market Regulation, from ing the store. effective date of the “three guaran- July 16, Chery Automobile recalled For vehicles that cannot com- US-listed Chinese new energy tees” policy, if the engine, transmis- 1,407 Arrizo 5e electric vehicles pro- plete the software upgrade remote- vehicle companies took a hit on sion, power battery, drive motor or duced between July 20, 2018 and ly, BMW Brilliance will contact the July 27, on the back of uncer- any other main part needs to be May 28, 2019. users through authorized dealers to tainties in the market. Li Auto replaced due to quality issues, the recalled 16,216 upgrade the software for free to plummeted nearly 14 percent, seller must replace or accept the Ora IQ EVs produced between July help eliminate safety risks. wiping $3.81 billion off its mar- returned purchase free of charge. 7, 2018 and Oct 30, 2019. In March, BAIC BJEV Chang- ket value. Xpeng Motors experi- Within 60 days from the effective Some power batteries used in the zhou, BAIC and BAIC Guangzhou enced a slump of 15 percent in date of the “three guarantees” poli- recalled Great Wall Motors vehicles recalled a total of 31,963 EX360 and stock, with a market value evap- cy, or driving fewer than 3,000 kilo- had been inconsistent with the soft- EU400 EVs produced between Nov oration reaching $4.86 billion. meters, faulty main parts with ware control policy of the battery 1, 2016 and Dec 21, 2018, due to a Nio fell nearly 9 percent, losing quality issues, including engines, management system, according to lack of consistency in some vehi- $6.25 billion in its market value. transmissions, power batteries and the official website of the State cles’ power battery systems. As of Thursday’s close, the three drive motors must be replaced free Administration for Market Regula- A battery pack is a complex com- had some upswing in stock of charge. tion. ponent composed of multiple indi- price. Xpeng Motors rose more If there are quality problems such After long-term continuous and vidual battery modules, and each than 2 percent; Nio rose nearly as the failure of steering system, frequent fast charging, the per- module is monitored by a sensor. 2 percent; and Li Auto closed failure of the braking system, body formance of the battery decreases, Before its mass production, the bat- slightly higher. cracks, fuel leakage or a faulted and thermal runaway of the power tery pack must pass all kinds of power battery within 60 days from battery may occur in extreme cases, tests according to national require- Nissan weathers the effective date of the “three guar- causing fire. ments, including high-tempera- performance bumps antees” policy, or driving fewer than The assembly of some parts in ture and high-voltage tests, Zhang 3,000 km, the seller must replace the power batteries of some said. Crisis-hit Japanese carmaker the faulty parts free of charge or recalled Chery vehicles have a simi- “With all the tests passed, the bat- Nissan upgraded its annual out- accept the returned purchase. lar consistency fluctuation. After tery pack is safe and controllable … look last week, projecting a The new “three guarantees” poli- long-term use of the vehicle, a ther- consumers need not worry too return to the black, after a cy is being introduced under the mal runaway of the power battery much about its safety,” Zhang added. strong first-quarter perform- ance fuelled by a recovery from the effects of the coronavirus. However, the firm warned that while it was upbeat, there were GM, Ford go to court in legal battle still headwinds and the chip shortage could also pose prob- By LI FUSHENG Cruise to market its technology from for the capability. lems. April this year. GM has been using “That’s why BlueCruise was cho- The United States’ two largest car- the name Super Cruise for its autono- sen as the name for the Blue Oval’s VW increases targets makers, General Motors and Ford, mous driving features since 2017. next evolution of Ford’s Intelligent after strong sales are in a legal tussle over the right to GM’s majority-owned Cruise self- Adaptive Cruise Control, which use the word “cruise” in naming their driving vehicle unit has been operat- incorporates hands-free Blue Zones German carmaker Volkswagen autonomous driving technology. ing since 2013. and other advanced cruise-control posted strong first-half profits on GM has filed a lawsuit against In its lawsuit, filed earlier this features,” said Ford in a statement. Thursday but cut this year’s fore- Ford, saying that BlueCruise, which month, GM said the automakers had Ford implied that GM is finding cast for car deliveries over a wor- Ford uses to name its hands-free held “protracted discussions” over fault with it because it did not raise sening shortage of semiconductor driving features, infringes on GM’s the matter but failed to resolve the the issue when other companies are chips. The 12-brand group — Super Cruise trademark as well the dispute. using the name. including Porsche, Audi, Seat and trademark on its Cruise family of “GM had hoped to resolve the “It has to be noted that GM has had Skoda — nevertheless lifted its autonomous vehicles. trademark infringement matter with zero issue with other cruise names,” profit target for 2021 after high- “Ford knew what it was doing,” Ford amicably, but we were left with said Ford. Such examples include end vehicles drove a “record” per- GM said in the lawsuit filed in Cali- no choice but to vigorously defend like ZF’s Autocruise, Bendix’s Smart- formance over the first six fornia. “Ford’s decision to rebrand by our brands and protect the equity Cruise, BMW’s Active Cruise Control months. VW said it was now tar- using a core mark used by GM and our products and technology have and Hyundai’s Smart Cruise Control. geting an operating return on Cruise will inevitably cause confu- earned over several years in the mar- The court has not given its verdict. sales, a closely-watched measure sion.” ket,” GM said in a statement. A Ford China representative said it of performance, of 6-7.5 percent. GM, the No 1 US automaker, has Ford called the lawsuit “meritless is offering similar technology in its The previous goal had been 5.5-7 asked the court for an order to pro- and frivolous”. It said drivers for dec- vehicles sold in China. But represent- percent. hibit Ford from using the BlueCruise ades have understood what cruise atives at GM China and Ford China name. control is, every automaker offers it, said the two companies are not in a AGENCIES-MOTORING Ford started using the name Blue- and “cruise” is common shorthand legal dispute in the country.