Market research agency Canalys released the latest report on the global electric vehicle market in the first half of the year. Despite the limited supply of electric vehicles, sales rose 160 per cent in the first half from a year earlier, the report said. The relaxation of novel coronavirus restrictions in several countries has led to a pick-up in demand, but overall car sales are still lower than they were before the pandemic.
Tesla continues to occupy a dominant position
Tesla continues to dominate with a 15 per cent market share, according to the electric vehicle brand category. The company's sales in China are still strong and will continue to invest in production in China in the future. Tesla has been overtaken in Europe, but continues to dominate in the United States.
The German Volkswagen Group ranks second with a market share of 13%. The company is a leader in Europe and its ID series of electric vehicles have been a success. Like many other carmakers, Volkswagen faces a backlog of orders and long customer delivery times because of chip shortages.
SAIC GM Wuling ranks third with an 11% market share, and its Hongguang mini electric car has been a great success in China. BMW and Stellantis ranked fourth and fifth with a 6 per cent market share.
China leads the Electric vehicle Market
The report points out that market demand in China and Europe is strong and will continue until the end of the year. In the first half of 2021, 1.1 million electric vehicles were sold in mainland China, accounting for 12% of passenger car sales. 1 million electric cars were sold in Europe, accounting for 15 per cent of new cars.
Taken together, these two markets account for 87% of global electric vehicle sales. By contrast, the US electric car market continues to lag. In the first half of 2021, 250000 electric vehicles were sold in the US, accounting for only 3 per cent of new car sales in the region.
Chris Jones, vice president of Canalys and chief analyst for cars and electric vehicles, said in a report that demand for electric vehicles in China is still strong, with sales of 1.1 million vehicles in the first half of 2021-almost as much as in 2020.
"only 6 per cent of cars sold in mainland China in 2020 were electric vehicles, and that figure doubled in the first half of this year," he added. " Tesla's success in China has prompted other Chinese automakers to rapidly expand their electric vehicle products.
Electric vehicles from brands such as Aion, BYD, ideal, Ultimate and Xiaopeng are selling well, pointing out that four of the top 10 best-selling electric vehicles in China in the first half of 2021 were small cars. Among them, the Hongguang MINI EV of SAIC GM Wuling is at the top of the market.
Xiaomi Automobile has officially completed its industrial and commercial registration, Xiaomi Automobile Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 10 billion yuan, and Lei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, served as legal representative, a spokesman for Xiaomi said on official Weibo on Wednesday.
"it's not surprising that Xiaomi is interested in the electric car market," Jones said. "if it wants to compete in the high-end field, it must compete with Tesla or beat Tesla in technology, or compete with Tesla or beat it in price-Xiaomi's first car is not easy."
European governments adopt a multi-pronged approach
Sandy Fitzpatrick, vice president of Canalys, said that in some European countries, electric vehicles already account for more than 1/4 of new car sales. Norway, the world leader, accounts for more than 80% of new car sales.
Automakers are expanding their range of electric vehicles to provide consumers with more choices, Fitzpatrick said. At the same time, the European Union has set emission targets for car companies. She points out that individual European countries have also introduced consumer incentives and set targets to ban the sale of cars with internal combustion engines.
However, she pointed out, "the biggest challenge facing car companies is to keep up with the demand for electric vehicles during the parts shortage crisis."
The progress of promotion in the United States is slow.
To "win the electric car market", US President Joe Biden proposed to invest $174 billion in the electric vehicle industry, which would be used to implement incentives and deploy charging infrastructure, and promised to sell 40 to 50 per cent of electric vehicles by 2030.
Fitzpatrick said that despite the huge investment by the US government, the penetration rate of electric vehicles in the United States is still low. She believes that when the government promises to support the electric car market through incentives, targets, penalties and investment, consumer adoption is likely to increase-but this will not happen overnight, especially in the diversified US market. "
"one of the reasons for the slow progress is the limited choice of electric vehicles in the United States." "but some American automakers will soon launch electric pickups," Fitzpatrick said. If they succeed, people's perception of electric cars may change quickly. "
