Bloomberg New Energy Finance: China is the leader in the electric vehicle market

All major players in the global auto industry envision an electrified future, but today almost all automakers, with the exception of Chinese automakers, rely on trucks, SUVs and other gasoline vehicles to boost profits.

Take Ford, for example. In the first half of this year, only three of its models in the United States were equipped with electric motors, and Ford said it was "all in" on electric vehicles. Of course, Ford may launch more electric vehicles in the next few years. However, it ranks 25th in the electric vehicle manufacturer ranking released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

BNEF publishes a ranking of electric vehicle manufacturers once a year. The judging criteria are not based on electric vehicle sales or electric vehicle range. Instead, BNEF creates a value-weighted index, which is the resources and costs invested by automakers in electric vehicles.

China is a leader in electric vehicles

About half of the world's electric vehicles are manufactured in China. According to the list released by BNEF, not surprisingly, 14 of the 34 listed automakers are located in China. Among them, nine of the top ten are Chinese automakers.

“This has truly been a phenomenal year for electric vehicles in China,” said BNEF analyst Josh Landess. Topping the list was Shenzhen-based BYD Co., which sold more than 100,000 electric vehicles in 2017, including electric buses and trucks.

Electric vehicles are one of China's main means of reducing air pollution. China has introduced a series of new energy vehicle subsidy policies and also enforced a new energy double credit policy, requiring automakers to produce more electric vehicles. These policies and incentives are working. Currently, it takes more than a year to obtain a license for a gasoline car in most parts of China.

BMW leads the way among laggards

The only automaker outside of China to make the top 10 was BMW Group in ninth place, which sold about 60,000 plug-in hybrids last year. BMW now offers plug-in versions of its three best-selling sedans and the X5 SUV.

Other automakers are ranked far behind China's leading electric car manufacturers. The gap between automakers such as General Motors, Honda and FCA and Chinese automakers is what BNEF calls a value-weighted index. These automakers produce millions of gasoline cars each year, and it will take time to transform to electric vehicles.

Tesla is not good enough to make the list yet

BNEF does not consider automakers with annual production capacity of less than 250,000 electric vehicles, so Tesla did not make the list. In fact, in 2017, Tesla's production was far behind this standard. After experiencing "production hell", continued increase in production capacity may enable Tesla to make the list next year, provided that Elon Musk can overcome "delivery hell".

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.