Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles

Abstract

NEVs have entered into a stage of overall market expansion featuring a world-leading position in market scale and constant enhancement of product competitiveness.

NEVs have entered into a stage of overall market expansion featuring a world-leading position in market scale and constant enhancement of product competitiveness. This Report, based on the NEV access data on the National Monitoring and Management Platform, concludes China’s promotion experience in the NEV industry from vehicle access characteristics, which provides reference for us to predict the industrial development trend and promote the stable development of the NEV industry.

2.1 Development Status of China’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Industry

Market demand for NEVs is exuberant, and the monthly market sales have hit a record high.

According to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China sold a total of 6.887 million NEV in 2022, up by 93.4% year on year. The monthly sales volume of NEVs reached a record high of 814,000 in December 2022. Product supply and quality were both improved; consumer recognition was enhanced year by year; market demand for NEVs remained robust; and market penetration curve accelerating went up at a great lick (Fig. 2.1). The monthly market penetration rate of NEVs has remained above 20% since March 2022, during which the rate hit the highest record in November 2022, reaching 33.8% (Fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.1

Source China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Monthly sales growth of NEVs in China.

Fig. 2.2

Source China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Monthly market penetration rate of NEVs in China over the years.

The monthly access volume of NEVs was growing rapidly. A total of 5.418 million NEVs accessed the National Monitoring and Management Platform throughout 2022. According to the trend of the monthly access volume of NEVs to National Monitoring and Management Platform (Fig. 2.3), the monthly access volume of NEVs in 2022 was far higher than that in 2021. With the expanding NEV market, the access volume of NEVs grew rapidly. With regard to the changes of monthly access rate, in January and February 2022, the access rate of NEVs was 118.9% and 102.1% respectively, and the access volume was significantly higher than the sales volume, indicating a period of access concentration.

Fig. 2.3

Monthly access volume of NEVs in China over the years

2.2 Characteristics of Vehicle Access to National Monitoring and Management Platform

This Report, from the perspective of the characteristics on cumulative access and yearly access of NEVs to National Monitoring and Management Platform over the years, makes in-depth analysis of market concentration, production concentration, regional concentration, and other dimensions, which is of great significance for drawing the experience of NEV industry and promoting the high-quality development of the industry.

2.2.1 Overall Access Characteristics of Vehicles

• (1) Overview in access

As of December 31, 2022, 12.073 million NEVs had been accessed to the National Monitoring and Management Platform, including 5,863 models accessed by 306 enterprises. From different vehicle types (Fig. 2.4), the access volume of passenger cars, buses, and Vehicle for special purposes was 10.846 million, 0.496 million, and 0.731 million, respectively, accounting for 89.8%, 4.1%, and 6.1%, respectively, with passenger cars dominating the proportion.

Fig. 2.4

Cumulative access and proportion of NEVs for different purposes (vehicle, %)

According to the cumulative access characteristics of vehicles in application scenarios, the cumulative access volume of private passenger cars accounted for more than half. As of December 31, 2021, the cumulative access volume of private passenger cars reached 8.321 million, accounting for 68.9% of the total access volume of vehicles to the National Monitoring and Management Platform, followed by official vehicles, rental passenger cars, special logistics vehicles, and buses, with cumulative access volume of 1.163 million, 0.737 million, 0.649 million, 0.25 million, and 0.425 million, respectively, accounting for 9.6%, 6.1%, 5.7%, 5.2%, and 3.5% each.

• (2) Characteristics of vehicle promotion concentration by province

The number and access share of provinces with cumulative access exceeding 500,000 vehicles increased significantly in 2022 compared with the previous two years.

Judging from the cumulative access volume of NEVs in provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government (Table 2.1) on the National Monitoring and Management Platform, eight provinces with cumulative access exceeded 300,000 vehicles, namely Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Henan, Shandong, Beijing, and Sichuan. The cumulative access volume of vehicles in the above provinces/cities were 7.481 million, accounting for 62% of the total access volume in China.

Table 2.1 Number of provinces with different promotion levels of NEVs and their proportion of access

The increment of NEVs in each of the TOP10 provinces in 2022 was more than 150,000.

In the past three years, the promotion of NEVs in all provinces of China has achieved remarkable results (Fig. 2.5), and, by the end of 2021, a total of 8.338 million NEVs had been accessed in the TOP10 provinces, accounting for 69.1% of the access volume in China. The increment of NEVs in each of the TOP10 provinces in 2022 was more than 150,000. Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu ranked among the top three, and by the end of 2022, 3.987 million NEVs had been accessed in the three provinces, accounting for 33.0% of the total access volume in China.

Fig. 2.5

Cumulative access volume of NEVs in the TOP10 provinces over the years. Remarks The cumulative access volume of each province in 2022 is taken as the ranking standard

According to the proportion of NEV promotion-type structures in each province (Fig. 2.6), the cumulative access proportion of new energy passenger cars in Guangxi, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu was over 90%, among which Guangxi was dominated by the promotion of BEV-small passenger cars, with the cumulative access accounting for 96%.

Fig. 2.6

Proportion of cumulative access structures of NEVs by type in the TOP10 provinces

The access volume of new energy passenger cars grew steadily, and the Vehicle for special purposes among the commercial vehicles featured outstanding performance, with increasingly electrification in the past two years.

The market demand for passenger cars has been gradually released, and the access volume of new energy passenger cars in each province increased steadily. According to the cumulative access characteristics of vehicles by type over the years (Table 2.2), new energy passenger cars’ cumulative access volume was obviously higher than that of buses and logistics vehicles. According to the changes in the cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars over the years, the cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars in the TOP5 provinces increased from 1.536 million in 2020 to 5.127 million in 2022, and that in the TOP10 provinces increased from 2.28 million in 2020 to 7.6 million in 2022.

Table 2.2 Cumulative access volume of NEVs by type in difference provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities directly under the Central Government)

New energy buses were generally slow in growth of access volume in recent years. According to the changes in the cumulative access characteristics of new energy buses over the years, the cumulative access volume of new energy buses in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Beijing ranked in the forefront, and the cumulative access volume of new energy buses in the TOP5 provinces increased from 144,000 in 2020 to 181,000 in 2022, and that in the TOP10 provinces increased from 233,000 in 2020 to 296,000 in 2022. The growth rate of access volume in the market of new energy buses slowed down in the past two years, mainly due to the rapid penetration of the market of NEV buses in the early stage, the limited capacity of new energy buses in large cities and insufficient demand on terminals. Meanwhile, the rapid development of rail transit and e-taxis has squeezed the market demand of new energy buses to a certain extent. In addition, due to financial constraints and shrinking purchasing power in several cities, the purchase plan of new energy buses were canceled or delayed in some regions. As the new energy buses entering the post-subsidy era, it is necessary for bus companies to further reduce cost and enhance intelligence with an aim to vitalize the bus market.

Affected by increasingly strict control over road traffic emissions, the electrification for Vehicle for special purposes has been accelerating. According to the changes in the cumulative access characteristics of new energy Vehicle for special purposes over the years, the cumulative access volume of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in the TOP5 provinces increased from 211,000 in 2020 to 357,000 in 2022, and that in the TOP10 provinces increased from 292,000 in 2020 to 518,000 in 2022.

The regional concentration of NEVs by type showed an overall downward trend.

According to the access concentration of vehicles by type over the years (Table 2.3), the cumulative access concentration of various types of NEVs in the TOP3, TOP5, and TOP10 provinces showed an overall downward trend yearly. Among them, the proportion of cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars in the TOP10 provinces decreased from 72.2% in 2020 to 70.1% in 2022, that of new energy buses in the TOP10 provinces decreased from 61.2% in 2020 to 59.8%, and that of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in the TOP10 provinces decreased from 76.3% in 2020 to 70.9% in 2022. The regional concentration of new energy Vehicle for special purposes was relatively higher than that of new energy passenger cars and buses.

Table 2.3 Cumulative access and proportion of nevs of different types in each province

• (3) Characteristics of vehicle promotion concentration by city

In 2022, the promotion scale of NEVs in the TOP10 cities had increased rapidly, and the promotion effect in first-tier cities was significant.

In the past three years, the promotion scale of NEVs in the TOP10 cities had increased rapidly (Fig. 2.7). By the end of 2022, 4.697 million NEVs had been accessed in the TOP10 cities, accounting for 38.9% of the access volume in China. Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Guangzhou ranked at the forefront regarding cumulative access volume of NEVs, and by the end of 2022, 2.707 million NEVs had been accessed, accounting for 22.4% of the total access volume in China.

Fig. 2.7

Remarks The cumulative access volume of each city in 2022 is taken as the ranking standard

Cumulative access volume of NEVs in the TOP10 cities over the years.

According to the proportion of NEV promotion-type structures in the TOP10 cities (Fig. 2.8), the cumulative access proportion of new energy passenger cars in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Tianjin was over 90%; the cumulative access proportion of new energy commercial vehicles in Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Xi’an accounted for more than 15%, and the new energy Vehicle for special purpose was the primary type promoted.

Fig. 2.8

Proportion of cumulative access structures of NEVs by type in the TOP10 cities

By the vehicle type, the promotion of NEVs in each city has its own characteristics.

According to the cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars in the TOP10 cities (Fig. 2.9), by the end of 2022, the cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing ranked among the forefront, with 00,000, 578,000, and 543,000 respectively, accounting for 7.4%, 5.3%, and 5.0%, respectively of the total access volume in China. According to the year-on-year growth rate of new energy passenger car access in each city (Fig. 2.10), the new energy passenger car market in Foshan and Wuhan proliferated in 2022. Among them, in 2022, the access volume of NEVs in Foshan had the highest year-on-year growth rate, up to 303%.

Fig. 2.9

Cumulative access and proportion of new energy passenger cars in the TOP10 cities

Fig. 2.10

Access volume and growth rate of new energy passenger cars in the TOP15 cities in 2022. Remarks Bubble size indicates a city’s annual access volume of new energy passenger cars in 2022

According to the cumulative access characteristics of the TOP10 cities in the field of new energy buses (Fig. 2.11), by the end of 2022, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou ranked the top three in China, with a cumulative access volume of 27,000, 19,000 and 17,000 vehicles respectively, accounting for 5.4%, 3.8%, and 3.5% respectively of the total access volume in China.

Fig. 2.11

Cumulative access volume and proportion of new energy buses in the TOP10 cities

According to the year-on-year growth rate of new energy bus access in the TOP15 cities in China in 2021 (Fig. 2.12), the annual growth rate of new energy bus access in Shenzhen, Yinchuan, and Shijiazhuang in 2022 was faster, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 15 times.

Fig. 2.12

Access and growth rate of new energy buses in the TOP15 Cities in 2022. Remarks Bubble size indicates the number of new energy buses accessed by the National Monitoring and Management Platform in 2022

According to the cumulative access characteristics of the TOP15 cities in the field of new energy Vehicle for special purposes (Fig. 2.13), by the end of 2022, the cumulative access volume of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in Shenzhen was significantly higher than that in other cities, up to 114,000 vehicles, accounting for 15.6% of the total access volume in China.

Fig. 2.13

Cumulative access and proportion of NEVs for special purposes in the TOP10 cities

In 2022, the annual access volume of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in the TOP15 cities in China increased year-on-year (Fig. 2.14). The access growth rate of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in Hangzhou, Tangshan, and Wuhan in 2022 was significantly higher than that in other cities, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 1.5 times.

Fig. 2.14

Access and growth rate of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in the TOP15 cities in 2022. Note Bubble size indicates the number of new energy Vehicle for special purposes accessed by the National Monitoring and Management Platform in 2022

• (4) Characteristics of market concentration

In the past three years, the concentration of NEV access characteristics of the TOP10 enterprises by field had shown an overall downward trend, and the access volume of typical enterprises was outstanding.

From the cumulative access characteristics of different types of vehicles, in the field of passenger cars, the cumulative access volume of the TOP10 enterprises increased from 1.943 million in 2020 to 7.056 million in 2022, and the market concentration increased from 61.5% in 2020 to 65.1% in 2022. Among them, BYD performed noticeably well. By 2022, BYD had 2.583 million new energy passenger cars accessed, accounting for 23.8% of the cumulative access volume of new energy passenger cars in China (Table 2.4).

Table 2.4 Cumulative access of NEVs of the TOP10 enterprises—by type

In the field of new energy buses, the cumulative access characteristics of the TOP10 enterprises increased from 265,000 in 2020 to 346,000 in 2022, and the market concentration increased from 69.6% in 2020 to 69.7% in 2022 (Table 2.5). Yutong Bus ranked first Regarding promotion volume. As of December 31, 2022, Yutong Bus had 117,000 new energy buses accessed, accounting for 23.6% of the cumulative access volume of new energy buses in China.

Table 2.5 Cumulative access and proportion of NEVs of different types of each enterprise

In the field of new energy Vehicle for special purposes, the cumulative access characteristics of the TOP10 enterprises increased from 216,000 in 2020 to 392,000 in 2022, and the market concentration decreased from 56.5% in 2020 to 53.7% in 2022. Dongfeng Motor had 82,000 new energy Vehicle for special purposes accessed, accounting for 11.2% of the cumulative access volume of new energy Vehicle for special purposes in China.

From the change in the concentration of access volume of different types of vehicles in each enterprise (Table 2.5), the concentration of vehicle access volume of bus enterprises and Vehicle for special purpose enterprises in the TOP5 and TOP10 sub-fields showed an overall downward trend; in the field of passenger cars, due to the strong sales growth of Tesla, SGMW, BYD, and other star models, the concentration of enterprises in 2022 increased compared with that in the previous years.

2.2.2 Historical Access Characteristics of NEVs

• (1) Access to the National Monitoring and Management Platform over the years

A total of 5.418 million NEVs were accessed to the National Monitoring and Management Platform in 2022, with a substantial YoY increase.

From Table 2.6, 5.418 million NEVs accessed the National Monitoring and Management Platform in 2022, an increase of 98.3% compared with 2021. According to the comparison between the annual access volume of NEVs and the annual sales of NEVs on the National Monitoring and Management Platform (Table 2.7), the access volume of NEVs in January 2022 and January 2023 was significantly higher than the sales of NEVs due to the appropriate delay in the time of NEV access to the National Monitoring and Management Platform, indicating that some NEVs were sold at the end of 2022. However, such vehicles’ access to the National Monitoring and Management Platform was in January 2023.

Table 2.6 Access of NEVs in China over the years

Table 2.7 Comparison between access and sales of NEVs in January of each year

• (2) Access volume of NEVs in China in 2021 by driving type

The access characteristics of NEVs in all regions of China showed a steady growth trend in the past two years, with outstanding performance in East China.

As shown in Table 2.8, 4.224 million BEVs were accessed in 2022, accounting for 78%; the access volume of PHEVs and FCEVs was 1.191 million and 0.3 million, respectively, accounting for 22% and 0.05%, respectively. According to the distribution of monthly access throughout 2021 (Fig. 2.15), BEVs’ access volume per month in 2022 was over 250,000. The access volume of BEVs in June 2022 reached and stayed afterwards at 300,000 and then reached 480,000 in December to the highest level of the year.

Table 2.8 Access volume of NEVs in China in 2022—by power type

Fig. 2.15

Monthly access volume of NEVs in China in 2021—by driving type

• (3) Access characteristics of NEVs over the years by region

The access characteristics of NEVs in all regions of China showed a steady growth trend in the past two years, with outstanding performance in East China.

East China ranks first regarding NEV access over the years. According to the access in different regions (Fig. 2.16), in 2022, East China boasts the highest access with a volume of 2.105 million, accounting for 38.9%, followed by South China and Central China with a volume of 1.079 million and 0.741 million, respectively, accounting for 19.9% and 13.7%.

Fig. 2.16

Access of NEVs in different regions of China over the years

NEV promotion was unbalanced in China, of which the proportion of access in East China exceeded 1/3 over the years, while that of Northwest and Northeast China was relatively lower.

According to the proportion of NEVs in different regions over the years (Fig. 2.17), the proportion of NEVs in East China remained above 30% over the years, which is significantly higher than that in other regions. According to the changes in the proportion of access volume over the years, the proportion in East China, South China, Southwest China, Northwest China and Northeast China expanded in 2022 compared with 2018. Due to the early application of NEVs in North China and favorable policies that stimulated market demand, the proportion of access volume in North China decreased in 2021 compared with 2018. With the rapid promotion of NEVs nationwide, the market demand in other regions is expected to be released soon.

Fig. 2.17

Proportion of access volume of NEVs in different regions over the years

• (4) Access of NEVs in cities of each tier in China over the years

The consumer demand in cities of each tier is robust, and the access volume of NEVs in cities of different tiers grew rapidly in 2022; and the access structures in new first-tier cities and below took a larger proportion.¹

According to the access volume of cities of different tiers over the years (Fig. 2.18), the consumer demand for cities of each tier had recovered steadily, which boosted the increase of NEV access volume in different tiers of cities in varying degree in 2022. In 2022, the access volume of NEVs in first-tier cities was the highest, reaching 1.553 million, up 1.4 times year-on-year; the access volume of NEVs in the second-tier to fifth-tier cities increased by 136.0%, 100.2%, 108.5% and 119.8%, respectively, compared with 2021, with growth rate doubled.

Fig. 2.18

Access of NEVs in cities of each tier in China over the years

From the proportion of access in cities of each tier over the years (Fig. 2.19), the market promotion of NEVs grew rapidly from first-tier cities to new first-tier cities and below. The proportion of access volume of NEVs in first-tier cities dropped from 29.2% in 2020 to 17.0% in 2022; that in new first-line cities and below climbed from 70.8% in 2020 to 83.0% in 2022, indicating a rapid release of endogenous market demand and constant improvement of users’ recognition of NEVs.

Fig. 2.19

Proportion of access volume of NEVs in cities of different tiers over the years

• (5) Access of NEVs by key enterprises over the years

From the perspective of enterprise access volume (Fig. 2.20), the access volume of NEVs by the Top 3 enterprises in 2022 were BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Tesla (Shanghai), registering 1.575 million, 0.525 million, and 0.47 million, respectively, accounting for 29.1%, 9.7%, and 8.7% of the total access volume in China, respectively.

Fig. 2.20

Access of NEVs by TOP10 enterprise over the years

• (6) Access characteristics of NEVs over the years by application scenario

In order to better study the characteristics of vehicle behaviors in key segments, seven segments, including private cars, e-taxis, taxis, cars for sharing, logistics vehicles, buses, and heavy-duty trucks, are selected with the support of the big data intelligent analysis technology from the National Monitoring and Management Platform as the key application scenarios for research. The vehicles in the main application scenarios are defined as follows:

• Private car: A vehicle not for online ride-hailing service selected from vehicles with an inherent “private car” label in the National Monitoring and Management Platform as the research object for the private car segment.

• E-taxi: A vehicle for online ride-hailing service selected from vehicles with an inherent label of “private car,” “official car,” and “rental car” in the National Monitoring and Management Platform as the research object for the e-taxis segment.

• Car for sharing: A vehicle for time-based rental service and long/short-term rental service filtered from vehicles with an inherent label of “rental car” in the National Monitoring and Management Platform as the research object for a segment of cars for sharing.

• Taxi: A vehicle with an inherent label of “taxi car” in the National Monitoring and Management Platform selected as the research object of the taxi segment.

• Logistics vehicle: A vehicle with an inherent label of “logistics vehicle” in the National Monitoring and Management Platform selected as the research object of the logistics vehicle segment.

• Bus: A vehicle with an inherent label of “bus” in the National Monitoring and Management Platform selected as the research object of the logistics vehicle segment.

From Table 2.9, in 2022, the access volume of private cars was 4.015 million, up 1 time year-on-year; that of e-taxis was 247,000; that of taxis was 276,000; that of cars for sharing was 91,000; that of logistics vehicles was 214,000, up 87.7% year-on-year; and that of buses was 47,000, down 13.% year-on-year.

Table 2.9 Vehicle access volume of key segments

Private purchase has become the main driver for market growth, and the market share of new energy private cars has reached a new high.

According to the National Monitoring and Management Platform data (Fig. 2.21), the proportion of access volume of new energy private cars showed a rapid growth trend. In 2022, the annual access volume of private cars accounted for more than 70% of NEVs; private purchase has become the main driver for market growth; and new energy private cars have been gradually become the major vehicles for family use. In terms of operation, the access share of e-taxis, taxis, and logistics vehicles increased slightly, while that of cars for sharing and buses declined from 2021.

Fig. 2.21

Proportion of access volume of NEVs in segments over the years

Stimulated by the user recognition improvement and diversified product supply, the market share of new energy private cars in cities of new first-tier or below increased rapidly.

According to data on the National Monitoring and Management Platform (Fig. 2.22), the proportion of access volume of new energy private cars in cities of new first tier and below increased rapidly the past three years. The proportion of access volume of new energy private cars increased from 63.9% in 2018 to 82.9% in 2022, an increase of 19 percentage points. Due to the increasing user recognition of the NEV market and the rapid release of market demand, compared to the rapid growth in the market share of NEV access in cities of other tiers, the market share of NEV access in first-tier cities decreased from 36.1% in 2018 to 17.1% in 2022.

Fig. 2.22

Proportion of access volume of new energy private cars in cities of different tiers

From the proportion of access volume of new energy private cars in cities subject to purchase restrictions and cities not subject to purchase restrictions (Fig. 2.23), the market share of cities not subject to purchase restrictions increased significantly, accounting for 74.2%, with an increase of 8% compared with 2021.

Fig. 2.23

Proportion of access volume of new energy private cars in cities subject to purchase restrictions and cities not subject to purchase restrictions

2.3 Summary

By summarizing the access characteristics of NEVs on the National Monitoring and Management Platform over the years, this Report concludes the development characteristics of NEVs in the field of vehicle promotion and application in China:

The regional concentration of NEV promotion is decreasing yearly, and the market share of cities of new first tier and below is expanding rapidly. In the past three years, the cumulative access proportion of new energy passenger cars, buses, and Vehicle for special purposes in TOP10 provinces showed a downward trend, and the concentration of NEV promotion in provinces declined significantly. In respect of the concentration of NEV promotion in different cities, the proportion of vehicle access in cities of new firs tier and below rose sharply from 70.8% in 2020 to 83.0% in 2022, and the market demand was rapidly released. In contrast, the proportion of NEV access in first-tier cities fell from 29.2% in 2020 to 17.0% in 2022, along with the shrinking market share.

The market demand for NEVs is robust, and market share of new energy private cars increases fleetly. As of December 31, 2022, 12.073 million NEVs had been accessed to the National Monitoring and Management Platform, including 5,863 models accessed by 306 enterprises. In 2022, the access volume of NEVs totaled 5.418 million. In terms of application scenarios, the access volume of new energy private cars reached 4.015 million in 2022, accounting for 74.1% of the national total, indicating that private purchase has become the main driver for market growth, and the market share of new energy private cars steadily increased year by year.

The proportion of NEV in cities not subject to purchase restrictions increased steadily, showing the features of “market dominance”. According to the data of the National Monitoring and Management Platform in the past five years, the proportion of NEVs in cities not subject to purchase restrictions in China witnessed stable increase from 55.0% in 2018 to 74.2% in 2022. The “policy-driven” effects of the NEV market continued to degrade, and the impact of purchase restriction on the sales volume of NEVs also declined. The NEV industry is shifting from “policy-driven” development to “market-oriented” growth, with the market demand for NEVs being released.