New energy vehicle development plans in various countries

2016 is a landmark year for the global technological transformation of new energy vehicles. The world’s major developed countries in the automotive industry have all entered a transition period, including Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota and other major car companies are undergoing transformation, beginning to increase investment in the development of new energy vehicles, and adopt new development strategies. In terms of production capacity and market share, countries have achieved certain results. Major global auto manufacturers have taken new energy vehicles as an important link in their development strategies and have gradually increased their global deployment. Especially in 2017, major countries in the world respectively issued timetables for banning the sale of fuel vehicles, which provided huge room for the development of new energy vehicles. Major automobile manufacturers in various countries have successively released future development plans in the field of new energy vehicles. By 2025, the total planned sales of various auto companies in the field of new energy vehicles will reach 5.7 million to 8.2 million vehicles. Table 1 lists the time of prohibition of the sale of fuel vehicles in various countries.

1. New energy vehicle development plan for major German auto companies

As a veteran automobile powerhouse, Germany has always been at the forefront of the world in the automobile industry. It has long recognized the importance of developing new energy vehicles and formulated a development strategy. As the largest automobile group in Germany, Volkswagen Group plans to list 30 pure electric vehicles before 2025, achieving annual sales of 2 million to 3 million electric vehicles; mercedes-Benz Group has increased its investment of up to 10 billion euros in the development of new energy vehicles. It is expected to launch 10 electric models by 2025, with planned sales of 450,000 to 750,000 vehicles, which will account for 15% to 25% of vehicle sales; BMW has set its new energy vehicle sales plan at 15% to 25% of the overall sales, and plans to sell 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles, including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In addition, BMW also plans to launch a fuel cell vehicle with a shorter driving range in 2021.

2. U.S. new energy vehicle development plan

Ford plans to realize that the sales of new energy vehicles will account for 10% to 25% of the total global sales by 2020, and the planned sales will be 650,000 to 1.65 million, mainly hybrid and plug-in hybrids. GM Group has adopted a cooperative approach for new energy deployment. And co-invested 85 million yuan with Honda to continue the in-depth cooperation in fuel cell and hydrogen storage that began in 2013, and start the production of fuel cell systems in Braunton, the United States, in the form of a joint venture company around 2020. In addition, GM is also cooperating with PSA on electric vehicles.

3. Japan and South Korea new energy vehicle development plan

The development strategy of Japanese car companies in the field of new energy focuses more on the choice of technical routes. Toyota divides the plug-in hybrid technology and fuel cell vehicle plans it promotes into three stages: short-term, medium-term, and long-term: The short-term goal is to expand hybrid electric vehicles, and the medium-term goal is to accelerate the promotion of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and the long-term goal is to eliminate engine models by 2050, and make HEV and PHEV models account for 70% of total sales, and FCV and EV (electric vehicles) account for 30%. Honda, through its cooperation with GM, has made fuel cell vehicles the “outlet” of the automotive industry. Nissan, which is also a Japanese automaker, plans to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2020 with more than 20% of its approximately 2 million vehicles, and will build pure electric models through the shared platforms of the three major brands of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, further reducing R&D costs and enhancing market competitiveness. In addition, the South Korean car company Hyundai-Kia Group stated that it will launch 26 new energy vehicles before 2020, achieving the goal of 300,000 new energy vehicles sold annually.