16 | Monday, July 5, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY 10 | Wednesday, March 6, 2019 CHINA DAILY

NEVs being embraced Short Torque Prices up as chip by major economies shortage bites US consumers continued to By LI FUSHENG brand, Bentley, will sell only elec- spend wildly on new automo- tric cars from 2030 as well. biles in the second quarter, Gasoline cars may become Klaus Zellmer, a sales executive pushing sales up 50.2 percent dinosaurs sooner than many at Volkswagen, told German over last year. It comes despite would expect, as major economies newspaper Muenchner Merkur tight dealer inventories and propose bans on their sales to cut that the automaker will start to record high prices. Automakers emissions, carmakers speed up phase out internal combustion sold about 4.43 million vehicles their transition toward electrifi- engines in 2033. from April through June, a fig- cation and customers develop a He said by 2035, European con- ure 0.4 percent lower than in fondness for the electric alterna- sumers will only be able to pur- 2019. Despite the big jump from tives. chase cars that offer electric a year ago, there were signs that Last week, Canada became the power. Zellmer said Volkswagen sales were slowing toward the latest country to announce a ban will also stop selling internal com- end of the quarter, mostly on new gas-powered car sales. bustion engines in the United because dealers had few vehi- The Canadian government said it States and China as well, but at a cles to sell. A global shortage of will require 100 percent of car and later date. computer chips has forced most passenger truck sales to be zero- Earlier this year, Ford automakers to cut production. emission by 2035 to protect the announced that it will only offer But demand is still high as the environment. electric vehicles in the European pandemic wanes and people Over the last few years, several market by 2030, while Honda also look to buy vehicles for family countries and regions have made said it will phase out combustion road trips. public plans to ban sales of gas- engines by 2040. powered vehicles. Last week, China’s largest SUV Hongqi opens first The United Kingdom will maker Great Wall Motors said 80 center in Riyadh implement a ban on new cars percent of its vehicles sold in 2025 Great Wall Motors displays its Haval-branded SUV at the 2021 Chongqing International Auto Exhibition, with internal combustion engines will be new energy vehicles, as held from June 12-20. zhang dandan / china daily China’s famous automaker by 2030, so will China’s southern- part of its goal to become carbon Hongqi has inaugurated its first most Hainan province. neutral in 2045. center for sales and exhibition Japan also issued a green strat- These carmakers’ ambitions are in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi egy plan in December to make all based on the growing acceptance Arabia. The opening ceremony new cars hybrid or electric by the of their electric models on sale in last week attracted a large num- mid-2030s, and France will see all the market. China’s carmakers eye ber of Saudis who are curious to new cars battery-powered by Electric vehicles, thanks to their see the latest models of the Chi- 2040. extended driving ranges, new nese luxury carmaker. The cen- Norway is the leader on that smart features as well expanding ter marks the official front, aiming to phase out new charging infrastructure and gov- completion of the company’s fossil fuel-powered vehicles by ernment subsidies, are gradually new energy top spot strategic sales network, which 2025. being accepted as alternatives to includes the three major Saudi It is already well on its way. The gasoline cars. cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and market share of electric cars in “Mileage anxiety, which used to Domestic manufacturers have the chance to place to make smart electric cars. Dammam. Ma Zhenduo, general Norway hit 54 percent in 2020, up be a major concern, is almost gone “We have all the things needed, be manager of Hongqi’s Middle from 42 percent the previous forever,” said Feng Chunyu, who snatch lead from foreign rivals, say executives it software, mobile internet or digi- East division, said Hongqi’s H9 year, according to data published owns a BYD Qin Plus that can run talization, and more importantly, sedan is among the most popu- by the Norwegian Road Federa- 600 kilometers on one charge. the Chinese government has a clear lar products in Saudi Arabia. tion. “In terms of acceleration, elec- By LI FUSHENG largest carmaker SAIC Motor, said ambition in terms of electrification Many Saudi consumers look for- Governments’ resolute pushes tric cars are doing a far better job [email protected] Chinese carmakers are on a par and decarbonization,” he said. ward to seeing Hongqi electric and clear schedules are prompt- than gasoline cars,” said Feng, who with international ones in terms of The vast market is expected to vehicles in the Saudi market as ing carmakers to steer toward drove a Volkswagen Sagitar before Chinese auto executives hope to electric cars and they stand a power the electric carmakers’ fast soon as possible, said Ma. “The electrification. buying the BYD vehicle. take the market lead over their for- chance to be the leader when it development. market in the Middle East is key Most major carmakers ranging Statistics from the China Associ- eign rivals as gasoline vehicles are comes to smart vehicles. Fu Bingfeng, executive vice-pres- for Hongqi. And the Saudi mar- from Volkswagen to Toyota have ation of Automobile Manufactur- replaced by electric and intelligent “Smart vehicles will be based on ident and secretary-general of the ket is crucial in the region,” Ma launched electric cars, and some ers show that electric cars and ones. local environments and local data, China Association of Automobile added. have released a timeline to plug-in hybrids accounted for 8.7 There were 5.8 million new ener- and obviously Chinese companies Manufacturers, estimates that become electric only. percent of new car sales in China gy vehicles on Chinese streets by have a better understanding of annual sales of new energy vehicles Nissan to build cars Volkswagen’s premium arm in the first five months of the year. the end of May, which is roughly them,” Zu said. will grow at more than 40 percent in United Kingdom Audi will stop introducing cars The figure was 5.4 percent by the half of the global total, according SAIC has revealed its goal to year-on-year over the next five based on gasoline and diesel end of 2020. to statistics from the China Associ- become a technology company years. Japanese carmaker Nissan and engines from 2026, reported Ger- Fu Bingfeng, executive vice- ation of Automobile Manufactur- focused on smart and electric vehi- “In five to eight years, a vast its partners plan to invest 1 bil- man daily newspaper Sueddeut- president and secretary-general of ers. cles, for which it has earmarked a number of gasoline cars that can- lion pounds ($1.4 billion) to sche Zeitung last month. the CAAM, said their popularity In May, NEVs accounted for budget of 300 billion yuan by not meet China’s emissions stan- expand production of electric British luxury marque Jaguar with customers factors in the around 10 percent of new car sales 2025. dards will be phased out and vehicles and batteries in north- will be even earlier, producing boom, which hinged primarily on in the country, and 15 percent of Zu said international companies around 200 million new cars will east England. It is a major victo- and selling fully electric cars start- subsidies in past years. new cars sold in that month had took the lead in introducing the lat- be bought to replace them. This ry in the UK government’s ing from 2025. He estimates that their sales will advanced driving-assist func- est technology via local auto joint creates huge opportunities for the efforts to attract jobs and invest- Volvo, a Swedish brand owned grow at over 40 percent year-on- tions. ventures. But Chinese companies new energy vehicle sector,” said ment following the country’s by China’s Geely, will follow suit year over the next five years, and “We are leading in terms of new will have their turn as vehicles are Fu. departure from the European in 2030. It expects 50 percent of will account for at least one-fifth of energy vehicles and smart vehi- getting smart, connected and Guo Shouxin, an official at the Union. Nissan said on Thursday its sales in 2025 will be electric total new car sales in China by cles,” said Great Wall Motors Chair- autonomous. Ministry of Industry and Informa- that it will build a new all-elec- cars. Another British luxury 2025. man Wei Jianjun when the Li Jun, CEO of SAIC subsidiary tion Technology, said China’s auto tric crossover sport utility vehi- carmaker revealed its 2025 ambi- Z-One, said the company has fin- industry is expected to see faster cle at the company’s plant in tion last week. ished an electronic vehicle plat- development during the 14th Five- Sunderland. It is to create more The company, which is celebrat- form capable of Level 3 functions. A Year Plan (2021-25). than 6,200 jobs at the factory ing its 31st anniversary this year, platform capable of Level 4 func- “The trend of the Chinese auto and its suppliers. As part of the estimates 80 percent of its sales in tions will be unveiled in 2023. industry’s positive development in project, Envision AESC, a global 2025 will be new energy vehicles, Z-One has also launched a digital the long run will not change, and player in EV battery technology, and 40 percent of the cars sold in system that functions like Google’s our determination to develop will build the UK’s first “gigafac- the year will be installed with high- Android for smartphone makers smart electric cars will not change tory” to supply next-generation ly autonomous driving functions. and users. either,” Guo said. batteries for the cars. “But it would be essential for us The system, the first of its kind in Brian Luo, public relations to work harder to consolidate our the auto industry, allows software director of Chinese NEV giant BYD, S. Korean auto sales advantage if we would like to developers to code and release car- said the industry has shifted from log steady recovery remain in the leading position. I based applications in an app store. being merely policy-driven to believe the time window will dis- Car owners would download and increasingly market-driven, and South Korean carmakers’ global appear in three to five years,” he install them in their vehicles, thus consumers’ acceptance of NEVs has automotive sales logged a dou- said. tailoring their vehicles to their own risen. ble-digit growth last month due The private carmaker is ear- tastes. In the first five months, the com- to the global recovery in marking 100 billion yuan ($15.43 “We would like to transform the bined sales of new energy vehicles demand, industry data showed billion) for its goals and would limited car cabins into limitless totaled 950,000 in the country, ris- on Thursday. Five local auto- triple its number of software possibilities,” Li said. ing 220 percent from the same peri- makers — Hyundai, Kia, GM engineers in two years to around Nio, a Chinese electric car start- od last year, according to statistics Korea, Renault Samsung and 10,000. Its total number of engi- up listed in New York, sold more from the CAAM. Ssangyong — globally sold a neers will double from around than 42,000 vehicles in the first The association is considering total of 657,547 vehicles in June, 15,000 this year to 30,000 in half of the year. scaling up its estimated NEVs sales up 15.1 percent from a year earli- Audi showcases an electric Q7 SUV at the 2019 China 2023. William Li, who established Nio to 2 million this year, up from its er. The number of cars sold in International Import Expo in Shanghai. zhang dandan / china daily Zu Sijie, chief engineer of China’s in 2015, said China is the perfect previous estimate of 1.8 million. the domestic market dipped 23.6 percent over the year to 134,761 in June, owing to the Volvo unveils latest modern take with Recharge electric concept shortage of semiconductors. Renault revives the past with iconic 5 By ZHANG DANDAN especially the rear space, according Through smart innovation and [email protected] to the automaker. collaboration with key partners, Renault unveiled an ambitious Volvo said that its next-genera- Volvo is able to bring users a longer strategy for electric vehicles last Swedish automaker Volvo tion electric cars will focus on range, faster charging speed and week, betting on affordable ver- unveiled the electric Recharge con- improving range and charging lower charging cost, thus further sions of its iconic cars of the cept model on Wednesday, high- speed. driving the popularization of elec- past to catch up with Volkswag- lighting its determination to The automaker has plans to work tric mobility, Green added. en in the fast-growing sector. develop premium electric vehicles. with Northvolt, a Swedish battery Over the next decade, while work- The French carmaker’s Chief The Recharge concept delivers manufacturer, to improve the ener- ing on improving battery power, Executive Luca de Meo said it Volvo’s determination to achieve gy density of its battery products by Volvo will make continuous efforts would launch 10 new EVs by complete electrification and repre- 50 percent compared with similar to reducing carbon emissions. 2025. All-electric vehicles would sents a new trend, according to products on the market today. Under Volvo’s plan, the battery account for up to 90 percent of Robin Page, head of design at Volvo. In the next decade, the energy products developed in collaboration its models by 2030, dropping its He added that it showcases a new density of batteries on Volvo’s vehi- with Northvolt will be produced reliance on hybrids to hit its tar- and more modern body scale and a cles is expected to exceed 1,000 using 100 percent renewable ener- get under a previous plan, he richer range of features, largely watt-hours per liter, and achieve an gy. added. Renault is betting that highlighting the limitless possibili- actual range of 1,000 kilometers, Volvo unveils the electric Recharge designed concept last week. The In terms of further reducing bat- an electric version of its classic ties that technology allows for according to Volvo. concept model features a new and more modern body scale. tery carbon emissions, Volvo has Renault 5 compact, which was design. With improvements made in bat- provided to china daily also put forward corresponding discontinued in the 1990s, will By replacing the internal com- tery technology, software and strategic initiatives, that is, to fully capture the imagination of bustion engine with a whole battery quick-charge technology, Volvo said reuse the valuable materials in obso- today’s drivers when it goes on pack, designers are allowed to charging times are expected to be Volvo hopes to provide users with enjoyable, according to Henrik lete batteries and to achieve the sale in the first half of 2024. extend the wheelbase and the wheel nearly halved by the middle of the sustainable electric vehicles to Green, chief technology officer with remanufacturing of discarded bat- hub, to optimize the interior space, next decade. make their lives easier and more the automaker. teries as much as possible. AGENCIES-MOTORING