China × Cleantech — May 2019
Welcome to the next issue of China × Cleantech, our May 2019 edition. For our full China × Cleantech history, stroll over to the “Future Trends” section of our website. For the last edition, click here.
CleanTechnica In Chinese
CleanTechnica announced that we have launched a Chinese-language sub-site. Check it out.
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy keeps on rolling. Here are a few of CleanTechnica’s Chinese renewable energy stories from May. Click the subheadings to read more.
Wood Mackenzie Highlights China’s Solar Dominance In New Stunning Visualization
Joshua Hill reported on Wood Mackenzie’s most recent market outlook for the global solar PV market. The outlook has a stunning visualization of China’s rise and now leading position in installed PV capacity.
China Approves 21 Gigawatts Of Grid-Parity Wind & Solar Projects
Joshua Hill also reported on the approval of 21 gigawatts of grid-parity renewable power. The approval was for 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind and nearly 15 GW of solar PV. In this piece, Joshua delves into the strain that the renewable energy sector in China has been going under as the government shifts from subsidized to subsidy-free grid-parity renewable power.
China Installs 5.2 Gigawatts Of Solar As Government Unveils 2019 Feed-in Tariffs
Furthermore, Joshua Hill reported on two announcements, the first being that the Chinese National Energy Administration announced that a total of 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar were installed during Q1 of 2019, the second was that the Price Bureau of China’s National Development and Reform Commission published the solar feed-in tariff policy for 2019.
China & US Remain World’s Most Attractive Renewable Energy Markets
Joshua Hill reported on EY’s latest Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index (RECAI) report. In this report, China and the USA remained the world’s most attractive markets for renewable energy. The article goes into details about the changes and what is driving the changes of multiple countries’ rankings in the index.
China Invests In Renewable Energy In Cuba
Steve Hanley reported on an article that delved into Cuba’s plan to get 24% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2024. The article showed that China is one of the key financial investors into this project, as well as the UK. Steve’s article covers which renewable sources are being invested in (sugarcane biomass, solar panels, wind farms, and small hydroelectric plants) as well as an analysis of China’s business attitude to foreign countries compared to the USA’s.
China, Japan, & South Korea Lie To Themselves (& Us) About Renewable Energy Intentions
Steve Hanley reported that many of the largest Asian economies — like China, Japan, and South Korea — are playing both sides of the energy business, supporting renewable energy development and deployment while also supporting the deployment of fossil fuel facilities in other countries. Steve outlines his analysis of this type of policy and the forces that are creating this double standard.
EV News
China: BAIC EU-Series Hit 13,000 Sales In March, Tesla Model 3 Scored 5,000 — #CleanTechnica EV Sales Report
Jose Pontes reported on March EV sales for CleanTechnica. In the report, he reported that the Chinese plug-in electric vehicle market’s 110,000 sales meant sales were up 86% year over year (YoY). That’s in the context of a continuously shrinking mainstream market, which was down 7% in March. This allowed the Chinese plug-in electric vehicle market to reach a market share of 5.8%. This growth could mean that the Chinese plug-in electric vehicle market will reach 2 million sales in 2019. Jose goes deep into details of these numbers, looking at what cars are selling the best, new entries, and movements on the list.
China Electric Vehicle Sales Up To 5.4% Market Share
We’ll also slip in Jose’s following report on China EV sales, which showed 100,000 registrations (34% YoY growth). That put the 2019 EV market share at 5.4%. The big leader is BYD (23% market share), with SAIC at #2 (9%) and BAIC at #3 (8%).
Chinese Automaker JAC To Start Selling Electric Vehicles In Brazil
Meanwhile, I reported on Chinese automaker JAC starting exports of Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles to Brazil. The JAC iEV7S, rebranded as the iEV40, will be the cheapest electric vehicle on the Brazilian market.
Tesla
As usual, there was a lot of Tesla news in May. The majority of the news is focused on Tesla Gigafactory 3 and the Tesla Model 3.
Tesla Model 3 Lease vs. Loan In UK, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, & China
Vijay Govindan compared the different buying options for a Tesla Model 3 in China and a number of other countries. The three options were cash, loan, or lease. His analysis of the three options for buying a Model 3 in China indicated that the lease is the most expensive while loan and cash are at present the least expensive.
Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory — Main Structure Now Being Completed
Maximilian Holland wrote three articles about the progress of Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. Each article shows the progress and nearing completion of the structure, which is very impressive. Read the articles for all the pictures, videos, and discussion. There were May 1, May 7, and May 20 updates on CleanTechnica.
How Will Tesla Do In China Once Gigafactory 3 Is Up?
Matt Pressman took a look at the future of Tesla in China once the Tesla Gigafactory 3 is producing vehicles. He covered what certain Chinese industry insiders are thinking about Tesla in China.
Shanghai Auto Show
The 2019 Shanghai Auto Show was covered in the April edition of China × Cleantech but also spilled over into May. Even though the Shanghai Auto Show ran from April 18 to April 25, we had lots of things to write and digest.
Xpeng’s Pragmatic Leadership In China’s EV Startup Revolution — #CleanTechnica Field Trip, Auto Shanghai 2019
Nicolas Zart reported on the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show in person (I am somewhat jealous 🙂 ). He was invited by the startup Xpeng to visit the show. He first discussed how he feels Xpeng separates itself from other Chinese electric startups, including its pragmatic leadership. As part of that, he notes that they only show production-ready models. Nicolas moved on by discussing the lineup Xpeng is creating, led by the G3 and P7. He also shared some interesting details about the company leadership. In the article, you can find many beautiful photos of the Xpeng area of the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show.
6 BYD Electric Vehicles At The 2019 Shanghai Auto Show
I wrote about BYD’s presentation at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. The lineup of cars was impressive, with 6 electric cars shown, out of a total of 23 total car models exhibited. In this article, I looked at the design and different types of product lines that BYD offers, but I focused on the electric Song Pro, electric Song Pro MAX, E1, E2, S2, and E-SEED GT hybrid concept.
Auto Shanghai 2019 Shows A New Wave Of Chinese EV Producers, And It’s Sober
Again, Nicolas Zart reported from the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show and this time discussed the general atmosphere of the show, discussing how the show demonstrated that the Chinese car industry has been developing along its own path. He said that Chinese EV companies are no longer copycats but more down to earth and measured. He also explained why many companies are more locally focused on their EV offerings. The pieced contains a number of interesting stories, brands, and vehicles from the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. Nicolas includes some fantastic photos of the show, too.
High-Speed Trains
China Reveals Floating Maglev Train With Max Speed Of 373 mph
Erika Clugston reported on the unveiling of a prototype maglev train with a reported top speed of 374 mph (600 km/h). The train is undergoing testing for a proposed start of full-scale production in 2021. This maglev train will join China’s existing fleet of high-speed trains and is the next step in the development of its domestic train system. Erika discussed how the maglev train will impact travel times in China and she shared videos and pictures of the maglev train prototype.
Economy
China Is Eating Our Lunch While We Watch
Barry A.F. in this op-ed outlined how the green future is forming and that he thinks, due to the inaction of the West, it is empowering China’s ability to gain a controlling foothold in the future of the world. Read CleanTechnica for the full article.
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