Electric bus market in China
Bus industry in China is the largest in the world. The country produced various types of buses and coaches – Large, Medium, Small, Hybrid and Electric. As more and more cities are introducing city buses and expanding network of BRT system, the demand for buses is growing steadily. Further, many cities are looking to substitute conventional fuel buses with new energy vehicles, which will push the industry.
Industry Overview
Bus Industry was growing in double digit till 2016. However, the industry registered slowdown in 2016, due to contraction of medium and long-distance bus lines, expansion of high speed rail network, subsidy reduction for new energy vehicle and higher emission standards, these reasons will keep on affecting the growth in future too and it is estimated that bus production will increase to 572,400 by 2021 at a CAGR of 0.9% over 2016. (Source: ResearchInChina).
According to China Bus Industry Report 2017, the bus industry in China started slowing down in 2015 and registered a further decline in the first half of 2017. Only the demand of pure electric buses is growing in the country.
The sale of new energy vehicle in China will touch 800,000 in 2017, including 180,000-190,000 new energy buses. It is estimated that new energy bus production and sales will increase to 250,000 by 2020. (Source: China Association of Automobile Manufacturers).
Electric Bus Market
Three types of vehicles are powered by electricity – Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV). BEV is emerging as the key technology over the period of time due to advancement in battery technology.
The electric bus registrations are experiencing extraordinary and almost unbelievable growth in China. In 2016, 115,700 electric buses were sold in China, compared to the 523 electric buses in 2013.
The development cycle of Electric Buses in China is as follows:
The electric vehicle industry is one of strategic emerging industries in China. The State Council issued the “energy-saving and new energy automobile industry development plan (2012-2020)”, focusing on promoting EV and plug-in HEV industrialization; expanding public services promotion in large and medium-sized cities. “Manufacturing in China 2025″ put forward “energy saving and new energy vehicles” as one of the key development areas; low carbon, electric, intelligent vehicle is the only way to be a powerful country in automobile manufacturing.
Bus Manufacturers
Yutong is the largest producers of electric buses in China in 2016, with production of 21,428 units / day, followed by BYD (14,903) and Nanjing (7,921). BYD is aggressively looking to enter into international market and already has strong presence in the UK, USA, Eastern Europe (Poland) and India.
The popular bus brands in China are:
