2011 Report on China's Electric-Vehicle Markets
HONG KONG, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The TUV Rheinland Global Electric-Vehicle (EV) Survey 2011, released in the fourth quarter, suggests that almost every car driver in India and China intends to choose an EV in the next five years. "This alone will completely change the market conditions", explains Dr. Thomas Aubel, Executive Vice President of Mobility at TUV Rheinland. The survey also shows that although the problem of charging is the biggest concern for Chinese drivers, most people are still willing to invest more for the sake of environmental protection. In addition, Japan and Germany are perceived asthe leaders in EV technology and thus customers would prefer to buy Japanese and German EVs. Potential EV buyers selected Volkswagen as their preferred brand.
Study Background
The TUV Rheinland Group has a broad range of specialists and labs for vehicle safety testing in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, China and the USA. This report is drawn from a poll of 6,421 people, conducted by TUV's vehicle testing specialists in 12 main markets including China, Germany, Japan and the USA. From this sample, a total of 502 adult drivers in China were surveyed. The respondents owned a wide variety of cars, such as micro, small, middle class, luxury, SUVs, pick-up, vans (MPV), roadster and etc.
Chinese opt to drive in the city and most driving is short- or mid-distance
When asked if they would purchase an EV in the coming five years, approximately 88% of the Chinese people interviewed said that they would, trailing just behind India with 92%. The poll finds that 44% of respondents would use an EV in the same way as their present car, while 39% would prefer to use the EV only for regular trips. Over 60% of driving journeys are in cities and 87% of those surveyed drive less than 100km in their daily lives, with journey times of less than 2 hours. The study shows that families with a higher income drive longer hours and distances than those with lower incomes.
Most of the Chinese respondents drive fewer than 100 miles per day. This makes driving an EV viable because the battery needs to recharge after a certain distance and this is likely to be satisfied. Thus, Chinese people are more willing to buy an EV than those in other countries.
The Chinese are willing to pay more for protecting the environment.
In China, 40% of those interviewed said that they would like to buy an EV because of environment protection. Saving fuel (19%) tops the list of environmental concerns; including combating global warming, air pollution, protecting our future from environmental changes and environmental protection through reduced oil exploration. The cost is also relevant; for example, the rising fuel price weighs quite heavily with 32% of respondents. To this end, 16% may choose an EV to save money on fuel. The purchase price, governmental subsidy and tax credits can also assist in the adoption of electric vehicles.
More than four out of five (80%) are willing to pay more to buy an EV to support environmental protection. 38% of the respondents claimed that they would prefer an EV to a regular vehicle even if the price of the EV was 20% higher. The study finds that those with a higher household income are more likely to value environmental protection, with 63% wanting to buy an EV, which is 11-12% higher than those with a lower income. One in four of the low-income respondents said that they were discouraged by the cost of environmental protection.
Access to charging points and battery safety are the greatest concerns.
As the data shows, charging options, convenience and accessibility will be critical to EV adoption. People worry about the need to recharge the battery after a certain distance (22%), the availability of charging stations (19%), the number of hours required to charge the battery (9%) and loss of power while driving (4%).
However, 9% of the respondents would not buy an EV due to safety considerations. Of these, 50% of them are very concerned about battery leakage/explosion (17%), battery safety (17%) and loss of power in the street (16%).
In summary, the future of electric vehicles depends primarily on charging accessibility and battery safety.
Japan and Germany are perceived as the leaders in EV technology
The specialists from TUV Rheinland Group found that when asked about the most technologically advanced country with regard to EV technology, more than half of the respondents perceived Japan (50%) and Germany (49%) as the leaders, followed by the USA (33%) and China (31%).
Brand Influence: a large majority of people prefer Volkswagen
For the question concerning, "Which car manufacturer do consumers associated the most closely with EV?", thirty-four percent of the participants named Audi, Honda and Toyota as the top EV makers, with Volkswagen (31%) taking second place and BMW (30%) in third place. Volkswagen takes the top spot as the favorite car manufacturer, while Honda takes second place. Volkswagen (31%), Honda (27%), Toyota (24%), Audi (23%), Buick (17%) and BMW (17%) make up the list of the top five vehicle brands.
This result shows that a majority of people favors Volkswagen amongst all, and then Toyota, Audi, Buick and Honda, which is more or less the same as the responses to the interview question "What is the brand of your primary vehicle?" It is clear that Chinese drivers will choose Japanese or German brands because they believe that they are the leaders in vehicle technology. The survey also reveals that people's first car buying experience has a direct impact on their next purchase. Volkswagen is selected as the best choice for an electric vehicle for its brand reputation.
As environmental and energy efficiency concerns spread throughout China, electric vehicles (EV) are increasingly seen as a solution for modern transportation. As they grow ever more popular, EVs will have a profound and positive impact on energy applications, transportation and society. EVs growing popularity will also create tremendous opportunities for charging systems and other EV-related products.
TUV Rheinland is an internationally renowned third-party inspection and certification organization, the team of experts foresaw the growth of this new market, being the first in China to launch testing and certification services for EV charging systems and our service scope includes: EV charging stations, EV cables, EV charging couplers and EV on-board battery chargers.
TUV Rheinland can help charging station owners, EV manufacturers, and component suppliers demonstrate the superior quality and safety of their products and equipment.
TUV Rheinland Greater China
A global leader in technical service provision, the TUV Rheinland Group operates out of 490 locations in 61 countries on all five continents. Our 14, 000 employees provide more than 2,500 types of services for 39 industries based on the guiding principle of developing sustainable safety and quality standards.
An important pillar for the Group since 1986, TUV Rheinland Greater China promotes technical progress by sharing expertise on technical innovations. TUV Rheinland Greater China aims to contribute to the region's development by becoming the leading provider of superior safety, quality and environmental services and solutions.
With 8 major offices in key regions, we are strategically positioned to deliver local testing and certification services linked to the safety of products and the quality of management systems. TUV Rheinland Group's 2000 employees focus on clients' requirement by reaching a competitive balance that provides reliable, high-quality products, safe working conditions and low environmental impact. The service scope covers the wide sectors of industry and energy; transportation; machinery; electric and non-electric products; food; system management certification and training & consulting.
Press Contact:
Simon Hung
TUV Rheinland Hong Kong Ltd.
Tel: +852-2192-1948
Email: simon.hung@hk.chn.tuv.com
