Changan’s Chairman: China Closer to Ending Fuel Car Sales

At the 2022 World New Energy Vehicle Congress on August 27, Zhu Huarong, the chairman of Changan Automobile, said that as the Chinese auto industry is primed to have the basic conditions to stop selling fuel cars, it is recommended that relevant ministries and industries clearly identify the duration of traditional fuel cars and guide enterprises and society to transform to new energy vehicles in an orderly manner.

Zhu stressed that, based on the development of the past two decades, the new energy vehicle industry in China has made great progress and has shown promising momentum. He also presented some new features and challenges. To this end, he put forward proposals such as further accelerating the top-level design of the new energy industry, advancing the research, development and application of a new generation of batteries, and securing a smooth transition in the implementation of the policy of halving the purchase tax on fuel vehicles.

Zhu holds that China’s new energy vehicle industry has progressed from the original technology early adopters and policy guidance to the mass popularization stage, and has gradually become an important force supporting the development of China’s auto industry.

Speaking from the consumer’s psychological view and the real use conditions, Zhu believes that PHEV and REEV are replacing fuel vehicles as more popular products now.

Due to the range of anxieties and safety concerns, Zhu believes that the product market expects a new generation of batteries. In addition, there is still a need to improve the replenishment infrastructure, and the growth of charging and switching facilities is still lagging behind the development of new energy vehicles.

CCTV quoted experts attending the meeting on August 27, saying that the cumulative sales volume of new energy vehicles in the world has exceeded 20 million vehicles.

In the first half of this year, the global sales volume of new energy vehicles exceeded 4.22 million, up 66.38% year-on-year and reaching a new high. In China, the figure reached 2.6 million in the first half of the year, accounting for more than 60% of the total global sales volume. Additionally, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China has exceeded 21.6%, and the number of new energy vehicles is higher than 11 million.

SEE ALSO: Changan Expects Production Reduction of 100,000 Units in August amid Power Brownouts

In early April this year, BYD officially announced that it will stop the production of fuel vehicles from March 2022. This makes BYD the first car company in the world to officially announce the suspension of fuel vehicles. Great Wall Motor, another Chinese car company, officially announced on August 22 that its HAVAL brand will officially stop selling fuel vehicles by 2030.