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Will Europe and the US catch up with China?
Uncategorized, 29 May, 2019
Western world is trying to implement a policy of changing bus fleets from diesel to electric. However, it is in very small steps compared to China, which definitely dominates the global market for electric vehicles, especially buses.
Western world is trying to implement a policy of changing bus fleets from diesel to electric. However, it is in very small steps compared to China, which definitely dominates the global market for electric vehicles, especially buses.
It is true that American producers still have a technological advantage, but the number of e-buses in the US is at the level of 1% compared to Chinese. And it’s mainly California.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), around 425,000 electric buses operated around the world in late 2018, of which around 421,000 were in China. Europe had about 2,250 pieces. According to further estimates, by 2025, China will have more than 600,000 city electric buses, and the US will have around 5,000.
The Chinese government is able to force the top-down regulations to speed up electrification and impose penalties, subsidize the producers it supports and encourages political rivalry between cities.
Europe and the United States will not do any of these things at the national level. I do not urge Chinese-type ruling of our countires, but of course, it’s effective when it comes to implementing certain environmental programs.
Electric buses need a large amount of energy installed in batteries, on average 200 – 350 kWh for ranges from 160 to 300 km. Which means that the annual increase in the number of buses in China alone at the level of 30-40 thousand units is 8-14 GWh of energy in batteries. Cell manufacturers in Asia will be able to cope with such production calmly, but in Europe or the US, for example, there is no factory capable of producing it yet.
