BAIC's Mass Electrification
So who will be he big Chinese EV producer when the Chinese start buying EVs in earnest? It more and more doesn’t look like BYD. It could be staid old BAIC, Beijing’s partner of Hyundai and Mercedes.
According to Gasgoo, Beijing Automobile Group Co (BAIC) will begin mass-production of all-electric vehicles in 2011. In the second quarter of next year, BAIC wants to have capacity for 40,000 EVs a year. They want to electrify their whole own line, including the Saab 9-3 platform they had bought. Eventually, BAIC wants to have all-electric vehicles in their C-, B-, A+-, A- and A0-class models. By 2015, they want to be ready to build 150,000 EVs, 200,000 control systems and 150,000 drive trains.
BAIC is more or less owned by the city of Beijing, and it stands to reason that Beijing could undertake measures that drive up the sales up EVs a lot. Euro 4 emission grade has been mandatory in Beijing for a while. If you want to enter the city with an out of town plate, you need to pass an on-the-spot emission test. If you fail, you can turn around or take a taxi.
I guess I better start looking for where to plug in down in the garage. Let’s hope the grid is up to snuff.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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