China’s EV Market Nearing 2 Percent Penetration

The number of passenger vehicles sold in China surged 68 percent in August compared to the same month last year, but the really compelling statistic is the number of electric vehicles that made up the proportion of the 55,000 units sold in the Asian country.

According to numbers published Sunday by Clean Technica, the plug-in-vehicle market grew in China to 1.8 percent of total passenger vehicles, which is a new record compared to last year's 1.5 percent. Sales are expected to grow even further by the end of the year to 2 percent and may even reach 2.5 percent, the website which reports on renewable energy trends, states. It notes that of all the EV models sold in China – 94 percent of which are domestic brands – small city cars were the most popular, with the EC-Series by BAIC International the best performer at over 6,700 deliveries in August.

In 2016 Chinese electrical vehicle makers represented 43 percent of the global EV market, or 873,000 units, overtaking the United States for the first time, according to a July report by McKinsey & Company. The report notes that not only did China up its share of the EV market by 3 percent compared to 2015, it also made gains on the supply side of EVs including components such as lithium-ion batteries and electric motors. "One important factor is that the Chinese government provides subsidies to the sector in an effort to reduce fuel imports, improve air quality, and foster local champions," McKinsey explained.

Related: Sustainability Or Growth? E&Ps Face A Difficult Decision

The Chinese government has announced that "new energy vehicles" (NEVs, which includes hybrids) should account for 8 percent of the passenger vehicle market by 2018, 10 percent by 2019 and 12 percent by 2020, according to EV Volumes.com.

A week ago the world's largest mining company BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) said 2017 will go down in history as the year when key changes took place in the electric car market, making them more accessible to customers and so boosting demand for commodities from copper to nickel.

BHP recently revealed plans to transform itself into the world’s biggest suppliers of nickel sulphate — a key component in lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars.

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By Mining.com

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