WORKING PAPER 2019-10
Comparison of the electric car market in
China and the United States
Authors: Lingzhi Jin, Hui He
Date: May 2019
Keywords: electric vehicle; market; China; United States
Introduction
In 2017, global electric passenger car
sales passed one million units, and
approximately every seven out of
ten of them were sold in China or the
United States (EV Volumes, 2018).
As the two largest national electric
vehicle markets, the countries both
have a remarkable electric car growth
over the past few years and very
dynamic market environment.
This briefing, part one of a two-paper
series, compares the market and tech-
nological characteristics of electric
cars in China and the United States,
based on 2015 and 2017 data. It
600,000
US
500,000
Electric car annual new sales
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0 the total sales worldwide, and more than
2010
Figure 1. Historical annual sales of plug-in electric passenger vehicles in China and the
United States (2010–2017). Sales data is based on EV Sales (2018); EV Volumes (2018);
Hybridcars (2018); CAAM (2018).
© INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION, 2019
intends to shed light in the uniqueness
and similarities in the two market, and
show their market characteristics and
trends over the three-year period. It
also acts as an update to our 2015
report (He, Jin, Cui & Zhou, 2018) on
the electric passenger vehicle market
in China.
The new vehicle registration data was
obtained from industry websites, two
previous ICCT papers (Lutsey, Slowik
& Jin, 2016; Slowik & Lutsey, 2018) and
the China Automotive Technology and
Research Center. These data contain
national aggregate data and detailed
local data for major U.S. metropolitan
areas and over 300 Chinese cities.
China
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
The analysis focuses on passenger
electric vehicles (interchangeably
with electric car).
Market characters of electric
cars in the U.S. and China
OVERALL MARKET TREND
Both nations experienced remarkable
growth of electric car sales in the past
decade. The U.S. market took off in
early 2010s, approximately two years
earlier than in China. But China’s
market grew at much faster pace,
especially after 2014. The growth rate
in the United States slowed down after
2013 compared to the previous two
years but remained steady.
Since 2013, China has accomplished
a phenomenal growth of new energy
vehicle (NEV) sales, namely battery
electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric
(PHEV), and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).
With an annual growth rate of at least
45% for six consecutive years from
2012 to 2017, China emerged as an
evident leader among major electric
vehicle markets globally. In 2017, new
electric car sales in China reached over
500,000. It contributed to almost half of
twice the sales in the U.S. In the U.S.,
growth in NEV sales remained steady
at between 20% to 30%, with the total
sales of around 190,000 in 2017.
WWW.THEICCT.ORG
COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

Electric car sales and
market share in leading
Chinese cities
The thirty leading cities in electric car
market share in China and the United
States based on 2015 and 2017 data
are shown in Figure 2. In both markets,
the majority of the electric car sales
are concentrated in a small number of
cities. In China, the top 30 cities col-
lectively represented 72% of the total
national electric car market in 2017,
while contributing to only 36% of the
passenger vehicle sales in 2017. In the
United States, the top 30 cities made
up about 74% of the total electric car
sales, while contributing to 42% of the
passenger vehicle sales in 2017. These
numbers were similar in 2015.
More leading cities had a higher
electric car market share in China than
in the United States, while China’s
national average uptake was slightly
lower in 2017. The average market
penetration of electric cars in these
cities is approximately 4.5% and 2%,
significantly greater than the national
average of 0.9% and 1.2% in China and
the United States, respectively.
The leading cities in the United States
have remained relatively consis-
tent, with the only change being the
two cities on lower part of the list:
Providence and Kansas City joined
the list in 2017, while Indianapolis and
Dallas dropped out. In China, seven
cities changed between the two years.
For example, Taiyuan and Dalian
dropped out of the list and Lanzhou
and Baoding were added in 2017. One
caveat is Weifang, who ranks high in
the list in 2017. The insurance data
on which the sales number are based
do not properly reflect the sales in
that city, and the real sales number
are lower. This is due to the differ-
ence in subsidies in different prov-
inces. Dealers in Shandong, which had
no subsidies, chose to get insurance
locally but obtain license in other
places in order to obtain subsidies.

China US
2015 2017 2015 2017
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Shanghai Tianjin San Jose San Jose
Shenzhen Hangzhou San Francisco San Francisco
Hangzhou Liuzhou Los Angeles Los Angeles
Guangzhou Weifang San Diego San Diego
Qingdao Beijing Atlanta Sacramento
Beijing Shanghai Sacramento Seattle
Changsha Shenzhen Seattle Portland
Tianjin Qingdao Portland Riverside
Linyi Nanchang Riverside Denver
Wuhan Xiamen Austin Boston
Ningbo Jining Salt Lake City Washington
Kunming Changsha Nashville Hartford
Xiamen Guangzhou Denver New York
Xi’an Nanjing Phoenix Phoenix
Nanchang Zhengzhou Washington Austin
Chongqing Wuhan Indianapolis Salt Lake City
Taiyuan Ningbo Boston Baltimore
Zhengzhou Kunming Las Vegas Las Vegas
Xingtai Hefei Hartford Providence
Weifang Chongqing New York Raleigh
Dalian Jinhua Raleigh Philadelphia
Nanjing Xi’an Miami Minneapolis
Chengdu Lanzhou Philadelphia Atlanta
Jinhua Xingtai Baltimore Chicago
Handan Nanning Tampa Detroit
Shijiazhuang Heze Chicago Nashville
Nantong Linyi Detroit Miami
Hefei Haikou Dallas Tampa
Changzhou Baoding Columbus Kansas City
Foshan Chengdu Minneapolis Columbus

Figure 2. Electric car market share in the top 30 cities in China and the United States, 2015 and 2017. For China, cities with over
100,000 electric vehicle sales are shown to exclude small cities with only a few electric vehicles but a relatively high share.

2 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION WORKING PAPER 2019-10

 COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

MARKET SHARE BY BRAND

Lifan
In both countries, a small number of 2% Others Others
Dongfeng 11% BAIC
Chery 10%
brands contribute to the majority of 4% BYD 3% 21%
26% Changan
the electric car market share. Less 4%
JAC
than 10 brands made up 90% or more 4%
JAC
of the total electric car market share 6%
SAIC
in both countries in both years. In 7%
China, these are all domestic brands JMC BYD
7% 17%
(some formed joint ventures with BAIC
8% Kandi Jiangnan
foreign brands), while the U.S. is 15% 7%
more open to international brands. Zotye
9% SAIC Geely
Zhidou 11% 13%
In 2015, there were 23 electric car 15%
manufacturers in China, with the
9 largest making up about 90% of Figure 3. Electric car brand market shares in China, 2015 and 2017.
the total sales (Figure 3). In 2017,
although the total number of brands
Mercedes Others
increased to 34, the 9 largest compa- 5%
Toyota 2% Kia
nies still made up about 89% of the 3% Chrysler 2% Others
total sales. In 2017, BAIC overtook Volkswagen 2% 9%
4% Tesla Tesla
BYD and became the leading brand, Fiat
Fiat 23% 24%
3%
and traditional vehicle manufactur- 5%
Nissan
ers such as Dongfeng and Changan 6%
started to take up a larger electric
BMW
vehicle market share. Some Zhidou 12% BMW
vehicles were produced under Geely 10%
Ford
and others under Jiangnan in 2017. 16%
In addition, Zotye was registered Nissan Ford Chevrolet
10% 23%
under Jiangnan and Kandi was regis- 15%
tered under Geely. These changes are Chevrolet Toyota
15% 11%
probably due to strategy changes
within an auto group or partnership. Figure 4. Electric car brand market shares in the United States, 2015 and 2017.

In the United States, Tesla remained
the leading brand in both 2015 and
2017, with about a quarter of the total
market share (Figure 4). Chevrolet
moved from third to second place
in 2017, with about half of its sales
coming from its Bolt model. Toyota
acquired a market share of 11% in 2017
with its Prius Prime, up from only 3%
in 2015, ranking behind Chevrolet.
Nissan, BMW and Ford all lost some
market share in 2017 compared to
2015, and Volkswagen and Mercedes
dropped off of the top 9 list.
In China, conventional vehicle manu-
facturers, such as BAIC, SAIC, BYD,
JAC and JMC, account for most of
the electric car market share. There
are a number of new electric vehicle
manufacturers emerging, such as
Yudo, which focuses on battery
electric SUVs. Its π1 has been very
popular among consumers since its
release. Technology companies are
also entering the electric car market,
sometimes choose to partner with
traditional vehicle manufacturers.
For example, Xiaopeng Automotive
Technology was the first technology
company to be able to mass-produce
electric vehicles with a partnership
with Haima.

WORKING PAPER 2019-10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION 3

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

LEADING MANUFACTURERS BAIC BYD Changan Chery Dongfeng Geely JAC Jiangnan JMC SAIC Others
Anhui
BY REGION Beijing
Chongqing
Figure 5 shows the market share Fujian
of specific electric vehicle man- Gansu
Guangdong
ufacturers in each province or Guangxi
state in 2017. Regional China Guizhou

and U.S market share by manu- Hainan

Hebei
factu rer s h ow very d i f fe re nt Heilongjiang
patterns. In China, manufacturers Henan
Hubei
tend to take up a larger share of Hunan
the market in a province if their Jiangsu
Jiangxi
headquarters or manufacturing
Jilin
plant is located there. Examples Liaoning
a re BA I C i n B e i j i n g , BY D i n Neimenggu
Ningxia
Guangdong, Geely in Zhejiang, Qinghai
J M C i n J i a n g x i a n d SA I C i n Shaanxi
Shandong
Shanghai. This dynamic is not as Shanghai
important In the United States, Shanxi

as both domestic and foreign Sichuan

Tianjin
automakers have strong nation- Xinjiang
wide distribution and dealership Yunnan
Zhejiang
networks. One exception is Tesla,
Share of sales in province by manufacturer
which is more concentrated on 0% 86%
the West Coast possibly because
Fiat- Hyundai-
i t i s a n ew c o m p a n y. S o m e Tesla GM Toyota Ford BMW Nissan Chrysler Volkswagen Kia Mercedes Others
manufacturers performed well AZ
CA
in all markets, such as Tesla and CO
General Motors; some had slightly CT
larger share in selected states, FL
GA
for example, Toyota and Ford; HI
and others had a small market IL
IN
share in all the markets, such as MA
Hyundai-Kia and Mercedes. MD
MI
MN
MO
NC
NH
NJ
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
Share of sales in state by manufacturer
0% 69%

Figure 5. Top 30 provinces/states in total sales and their market share by manufacturer in
China and United States, 2017. Color is indexed to the market share number, with lighter colors
representing smaller market share.

4 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION WORKING PAPER 2019-10

 COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

MARKET SHARE BY
TECHNOLOGY PATH
In China, the sales and model availabil-
ity of BEVs are far greater than PHEVs, 32%
but there is not a significant difference Beijing

Tianjin
in the market development of these Taiyuan
Shijiazhuang
Lanzhou
two technologies in the United States.
Linyi
68% Xi‘an
Qingdao

Nanjing Nantong
Hefei
As a result of China’s promotion of Wuhu
Wuhu Shanghai
SALES Chengdu Chongqing
Changsha Huzhou
BEVs as a major strategy in the restruc- Xiangtan Hangzhou
Nanchang
Ningbo

turing of the automobile industry, their 15%

Zhuzhou
Yichun

Kunming Guangzhou
sales and availability far outweighing
Xiamen

0.1% BEV Shenzhen

PHEVs. As shown in Figure 6, BEV PHEV

1% Haikou

sales were more than twice the sales South China

5% Sea Islands
of PHEV in China, and the number of
85%
BEV models in the market was more 10%
than five times that of PHEV’s in 2015. MODELS
The consumer preference for BEVs
Figure 6. New 2015 plug-in hybrid and battery electric car shares in 30 leading Chinese cities.
grew in 2017 with 83% of sales being
BEVs and 17% being PHEVs. The dif-
ference in model availability between
BEVs and PHEVs got smaller in 2017
Seattle

(Figure 8). The very small number of Portland

Boston

FCVs comes from SAIC’s Roewe 950, Minneapolis

Detroit

with its limited production and sales 37%

Chicago
New York

Philadelphia
Pittsburgh

in Shanghai. 63% San Francisco

San Jose
Columbus
Baltimore
Washington

Cincinnati
Denver
Kansas City St. Louis

In comparison, although some U.S. Las Vegas Charlotte

states and cities offer incentives for

Los Angeles
Riverside
SALES
BEVs and PHEVs., the two technolo-
Atlanta
San Diego Phoenix

gies had comparable sales and model

availability (Figure 7 and Figure 9). Austin Houston

0.1% BEV
Tampa

The U,S, PHEV market grew in in 48% 52%

1% PHEV Miami

model availability and sales between

2015 and 2017. In 2017, BEV and PHEV
approximately split the market share
evenly, but the model availability of
PHEV outweighed that of BEV’s.
At the city-level, the sales of BEVs out-
weighed that of PHEVs in 27 out of
the 30 target cities in China in 2015.
The sales of PHEVs were more than
BEVs only in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and
Xi’an. These cities all have local PHEV
5%
10%
MODELS
Figure 7. New 2015 plug-in hybrid and battery electric car shares in 30 leading
U.S. metropolitan areas.
manufacturers, with SAIC in Shanghai, the difference was less remarkable
BYD in Shenzhen and one of BYD’s than in 2015. Most of the U.S. target
major manufacturing base in Xi’an. In cities had similar shares of BEVs and
2017, only Shanghai and Shenzhen had PHEVs in 2017. Only San Jose shows a
higher sales in PHEVs than BEVs, and slightly higher PHEV share than BEV.

WORKING PAPER 2019-10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION 5

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

0.01% FCV

16.93% Beijing
Baoding
Taiyuan
Jining Qingdao
HezeLinyi
Lanzhou Xi‘an Xingtai Weifang
Hefei
Nanjing
83.06% Zhengzhou
Wuhan
Shanghai

Chengdu Chongqing Jinhua

Huzhou
Ningbo
SALES Nanchang
Liuzhou
Kunming Nanning Xiamen
2% FCV

0.1% BEV Shenzhen

23% PHEV Haikou
1%
5%

75% 10% South China

Sea Islands

MODELS

Figure 8. New 2017 plug-in hybrid and battery electric car shares in 30 leading Chinese cities.

Seattle

Portland

Boston

Minneapolis
Detroit
49% New York

Chicago Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Sacramento Baltimore
San Jose Columbus Washington
51% San Francisco Cincinnati
Denver
Kansas City
St. Louis

Las Vegas
Los Angeles Charlotte
Riverside

SALES
San Diego
Atlanta
Phoenix

Austin Houston

Tampa

0.1% BEV
36% Miami

1% PHEV
64%
5%

10%
MODELS

Figure 9. New 2017 plug-in hybrid and battery electric car shares in 30 leading
U.S. metropolitan areas.

6 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION WORKING PAPER 2019-10

 COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

MARKET SHARE BY BEV PHEV

VEHICLE SEGMENT Microcars Cars Cars
Zhidou E20 Cloud 100 BAIC EV200 BYD QIN OEM
Figure 10 through Figure 13 illustrate BAIC
the China and U.S. BEV and PHEV BYD
Chery
markets in 2015 and 2017, categorized Denza
by vehicle size.1 In China, the BEV sector JAC
JMC
was dominated by microcars, which Kandi
are often cheaper and have a shorter Lifan JAC Lifan
330 iEV5 Others
electric range than other models. In Kandi K11 Kandi EV Chery eQ
EV SAIC
2017, approximately 68% of BEV sales Roewe e550 JAC Youngman
Denza iREV Zhidou
were microcars. Cars accounted for EV Zotye
27%, and SUVs, MPVs and vans took up
the rest 5%. The numbers are similar in Zhidou D2 JMC Lifan
Kandi K10 E100 620
2015. The vehicle segment composition SUV
of the PHEV sector looked similar to BYD Tang

Jiangnan T11 SUV & MPV

that of the U.S., with over 75% of sales BYD E6
being cars and the rest being SUVs.

In contrast, the market segments Figure 10. Vehicle segments of BEVs and PHEVs by sales in China, 2015.
for both battery and plug-in hybrid
vehicles are similar in the United BEV PHEV
States, with cars contributing to over Microcars Cars Cars
80% of the total sales. BAIC EC Series OEM Zhidou D2 JAC Emgrand EV BYD E5 BYD Qin OEM
iEV6E BAIC
BYD
SUVs took up a larger portion of the Changan
PHEV market in China than in the Chery
Roew
e
Dongfeng
United States. Three SUV models, the ei6 Geely
BAIC EU
SAIC Roewe eRX5, the BYD Song, and Series
JAC
Jiangnan
the BYD Tang, represented over half JMC
of the PHEV sales in China in 2017. In SAIC
Chery eQ1 Benben Kandi Oulove SUVs , MPVs & Vans Others
the U.S., SUV models only accounted K12 Roewe BYD
eRX5 Song
for about 15% of the total PHEV sales Denza
JMC E200
in 2017. JMC E100
Junfeng
ER30 Kandi
There are many more players in the Baojun E100
K17
BEV market than the PHEV market Zotye E200 SUVs , MPVs & Vans
Zotye
in China, while in the U.S. the differ- Cloud100 Zhima
BYD E6
BYD Tang
ence is not so significant. The ten most E30
BAIC EX
popular BEV models were 59% of the Series

BEV sales in China in 2017, while in
the United States, the top ten BEV
models represented approximately
97% of the total sales. In contrast, the
1 The passenger vehicles are categorized into
three major segments: microcars, cars and SUV,
and MPV and vans, based on the common Euro
car segment used in China. Cars are divided
into six segments from A to F, with generally
increasing wheelbase, engine displacement
and other metrics. The A segment is further
divided, with those with a wheelbase smaller
than 2.3 meters (A00) classified a microcar.
Figure 11. Vehicle segments of BEVs and PHEVs by sales in China, 2017.
PHEV market was dominated by a few
brands in China, namely SAIC and BYD,
which contributed to over 90% of the
total PHEV market share in both 2015
and 2017.
In 2017, both the BEV and PHEV markets
in China became more fragmented
in 2017, with the previously dominant
brands taking up less market share.
The market share of the top ten BEV
models decreased from about 80% to
59% in 2017 in China. More players and
models emerged and became popular,
such as the several models from BAIC,
JMC and JAC. For PHEV, although BYD
and SAIC still dominated the market,
there were more model availability,
and SAIC eroded BYD’s dominant
market share. The U.S. market tends to

WORKING PAPER 2019-10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION 7

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

be steadier, with a bit more offerings in BEV PHEV

the PHEV sector in 2017. Cars Cars
Model S i3 Volt Fusion BMW
The market share of the SUV segment Cadillac
Chevrolet
grew for both PHEV and BEV in 2017 Fiat
from 2015 in both countries. In China, Ford
the market share of SUV, MPV and vans Honda
Hyundai
in 2017 was 14%, this is an increase Kia
from 10% in 2015. The growth in the 500e e-Golf
Mercedes
Mitsubishi
United States. was more significant Nissan
than in China: the market share was 2% Porsche
Smart
in 2015 and grew to 16% in 2017. C-Max Prius i8 i8 Tesla
Leaf
Toyota
Volkswagen
Spark Focus Volvo

ELR
B-Class Soul

Microcars SUVs and Vans SUVs and Vans

Cayenne X5

Figure 12. Vehicle segments of BEVs and PHEVs by sales in the United States, 2015.

BEV PHEV
Cars Cars
Model S Nissan LEAF Volt Prius Prime
OEM
Audi
BMW
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Fiat
Ford
500e e-Golf Kia
Mercedes
Nissan
Fusion Energi i3 REx A3
Bolt Tesla
Toyota
Soul EV
Volkswagen
330e Volvo
C-Max Energi Others

i3 530e

Model
SUVs X Vans
and Microcars
SUVs and Vans
X5 xDrive40e Pacifica XC90
PHEV T8 Twin
Engine

Figure 13. Vehicle segments of BEVs and PHEVs by sales in the United States, 2017.

8 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION WORKING PAPER 2019-10

 COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

MODEL AVAILABILITY New 2017 electric vehicle sales San Jose, CA

Better model availability gives con- 12%

sumers more choices and can increase
1,000 20,000 40,000
competition in the electric vehicle 10%

Electric vehicle share

market. It is often seen as an impor-
tant factor in electric vehicle market
8%
uptake. Figure 14 and Figure 15 show
San Francisco, CA
the relationship between model avail-
ability (x axis), market share (y axis) 6%
and market size (circle size) in the Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
United States and China in 2017.2 Data 4%
Sacramento, CA
from 2015 shows similar patterns. Seattle, WA
Portland, OR Riverside, CA
2% Salt Lake Boston, MA
There is no clear link visually between City, UT Tampa, FL
Denver, CO Washington, DC
New York, NY
model availability and electric vehicle Richmond,
VA
Miami, FL
Dallas, TX
market share in China. Cities with higher 0%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
market share and sales, such as Tianjin,
Model availability (at least 20 sales)
Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and
Beijing tend to have more available Figure 14. Market share of new electric vehicles and model availability in 30
models, but cities with more models leading Chinese cities by market share in 2017.
available do not necessarily have high
market share. Moreover, there are cities New 2017 electric vehicle sales
with limited model availability but still 12%
have relatively high electric vehicle Tianjin

market share, such as Liuzhou. 1,000 20,000 40,000

10% Liuzhou Hangzhou
Weifang
Electric vehicle share

In the United States, metropolitan Beijing

areas with more models available 8%
tend to have relatively higher electric Shanghai Shenzhen
vehicle sales and sales share. The top Nanchang Xiamen Qingdao
5 areas by market size, accounting for 6%
almost half of the total national sales
were also the top 5 in terms of model 4%
Changsha

availability, with 28 to 37 models. Nanjing

Guangzhou
Zhengzhou
Hefei
There are generally more models in 2% Lanzhou
Chongqing Xi’an
Haikou Heze Chengdu
the U.S. metropolitan areas than the Linyi Baoding
Chinese cities, with an average of 17
0%
and 13, respectively. In addition, the 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
leading 5 cities in China had 19 to Model availability (at least 20 sales)
23 models available, versus 28 to 37
models available in the United States. Figure 15. Market share of new electric vehicles and model availability in 30 leading
U.S. metropolitan areas by market share in 2017.

2 Model availability is defined as the number of

models that has at least 20 new registrations
to filter out those that are not widely available
to the public.

WORKING PAPER 2019-10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION 9

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

Technical characteristics In China, seven of the top ten BEV The features of the plug-in hybrid SUV
models in 2017 were cheaper, shorter- models in the two markets are very
of electric cars
range microcars. In the United States, different. The BMW X5 offers a very
nine of the top ten selling BEVs are short electric-range at relatively high
TOP MODELS
all cars, with only one SUV - the Tesla energy consumption, as a compromise
Figure 16 and Figure 17 show the ten Model X. The three best-selling U,S. to all the luxury features of the vehicle.
best-selling BEV and PHEV models models all have longer-than-average Priced at more than $60,000, it was
along with their market share in China range (over 200 miles. one of the most expensive models
and the United States in 2015 and 2017. among the top 10 list. The Chrysler
Three SUV models, the SAIC Roewe Pacifica, the first electric van in the
Consumers in China tend to prefer eRX5, the BYD Song, and the BYD United States, was newly released
cheaper and shorter-range microcar Tang, represented over half of the in 2017 and priced at a little bit over
BEVs, but plug-in hybrid SUVs, while PHEV sales in China in 2017. In the $40,000. By comparison, all three SUV
U.S. consumers prefer cars for both United States, the BMW X5 xDrive models in China had a longer all-elec-
BEVs and PHEVs. The top BEV models 40e and the Chrysler Pacifica, the only tric range than the U.S. models and
tend to have a longer range, and PHEVs two SUV models in the top ten list, cost less. Both of BYD’s models have a
tend to have a shorter all-electric range accounted for only about 10% of the 50-mile (80km) all-electric range. The
in the United States than in China. total PHEV sales in 2017. BYD Song is priced as low as around

BEV PHEV BEV PHEV

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�AJQB I�BB 4.2%
�BHDE�eQ
-�� �AJ�OH�D -�P

3.7% 2.0%
4.9%
�11A5�

�BABC� D2 ��DICIC �BBIBI 1.7%

4.5% 6���A5ABP5JBPB
3.0%
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1.7%
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20.3% 41.3% 5.6%

2015 2017

Figure 16. Best-selling BEV and PHEV models in China, 2015 and 2017. Model names with the same color belong to the same manufacturer.

BEV PHEV BEV PHEV

Model S Model S
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CFFC

HFFC
3HAKDE3F3HA
22.0%

�5FFFF3�BF� ��HF�FCBFBFFB
35.7%
36.2% 28.8%

21.9%

�KKCFAFECEFAE
���F�3KFBFFB
22.6%

���35�
0FFEFEC
23.5%
10.4%

� 0A�NKCEFE�
23.5%

8.8%
17.6%

�FE�F
15.0%
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�5FG3�GGB 5.1%

�CADACE�KE�
7.5% 9.7% 17.3%
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5.8%

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�BF8E8BF3��8CFFF
3.9%
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3.6%
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2.4%
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2.2%
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0.5% 4.5%

2015 2017

Figure 17. Best-selling BEV and PHEV models in the U.S., 2015 and 2017. Model names with the same color belong to the same manufacturer.

10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION WORKING PAPER 2019-10

 COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES

$26,000 after subsidy and the BYD

80 China
Tang as low as around $35,500 after Market size (sales)

Battery capacity (kWh)

subsidy. The Roewe eRX5 from SAIC
60
has a 37-mile (60km) all-electric range
5,000 10,000 25,000
and is priced as low as about $29,000
40 Car
after central subsidy.
Microcar
SUV
20
PERFORMANCE METRICS BEV
PHEV
The distribution of two technical speci- 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
fications, electric driving range and
All-electric range (mile)
battery capacity, of plug-in electric US
cars in China and the United States are Battery capacity (kWh)
80
shown in Figure 18 and Figure 19. In
both countries, there are more models
60
covering wider performance metrics in
2017 compared to 2015, but the distri- 40 Car
bution patterns of the metrics differ. Microcar
SUV
20
Compared with 2015, there has been BEV
PHEV
major developments in the offerings 0
of battery electric vehicles with differ- 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
ent vehicle type and range. In China, All-electric range (mile)
although microcars with a range of Figure 18. All-electric range and battery capacity of BEV and PHEV models in China and
approximately 100-miles continue to the United States, 2015.
be popular, there are considerable
sales in higher-range cars and SUVs. 100
China
The BYD E6, with an electric range
Battery capacity (kWh)

of around 250 miles, became more 80 300km

250km
popular among Chinese consumers. 200km
In the United States, there are more 60
150km Car
models with a range slightly over 100
100km Microcar
miles, and at a higher range around 40 SUVs, MPV
250 miles, such as the Tesla Model X and vans
and the Chevrolet Bolt. BEV
20
PHEV
Similar to the trend for BEV, in 2017, FCV
there were more PHEV models and 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
range to choose from. In China, there
All-electric range (mile)
were a variety of models ranging from
100
30 miles to 72 miles in 2017, while in US
Market size (sales)
2015, consumers had a limited choice
of PHEV models available, and no 80
Battery capacity (kWh)

model had an all-electric range of 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

over 50 miles. In 2017, In the United 60
States, although the range of most
PHEV models is still mostly under 50 40 Car
miles, there are more models available Microcar
in 2017. 20 SUVs
BEV
As shown in the figures below, the PHEV
0
distribution pattern of model feature 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
clusters corresponds with the design All-electric range (mile)
of the central new energy vehicle
Figure 19. All-electric range and battery capacity of BEV and PHEV models in China and
the United States, 2017.

WORKING PAPER 2019-10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION 11

COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES
subsidies in China. The Chinese BEVs
are clustered at 150km or above, in
50km increments, and PHEVs are
shown to have an all-electric range of
50km around 31 miles or more. BEVs
are eligible for three subsidy tiers
depending on electric range and other
performance metrics, and only PHEVs
with a 50km all-electric range or above
can receive subsidy. For example, a
BEV with a minimum range of 150km
and a battery energy density between
90 and 120 Wh/kg would receive the
second tier of subsidy of 360 thousand
yuan in 2017. This is a major leap from
the first-tier level of 200 thousand
yuan given to BEVs with electric
mileage above 100km with the same
battery energy density. The third tier is
applied to BEVs with a minimum range
of 250km, where there is also a cluster
of models slightly above that range.
The U.S. BEV data present a distinct
bipolar distribution in terms of electric
car driving range, with one peak at
around 50-130 miles and the other at
around 250 miles primarily driven by
the three Tesla models and Chevrolet
Bolt. Nothing is available in between.
The U.S. federal income tax credit for
BEVs scales based on battery capacity.
To receive the maximum $7,500 incen-
tive the vehicle must have a 16kWh
battery. All BEVs shown here qualify
for the maximum credit. Compared to
the Chinese market, U.S. consumers
prefer BEVs with longer electric range.
Many PHEVs have less than 16kWh
battery capacities, and thus are not
eligible for the full $7500 income tax
credit. However, many states such as
California offer access to high-occu-
pancy lanes to PHEVs, which can be a
valuable benefit to some drivers.
In general, manufacturers selling BEVs
in China provided a greater diversity
of car models in terms of all-electric
range than manufacturers selling
BEVs in the United States. The overall
12 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION
electric mileage coverages of battery
electric cars in the two markets were
very close -- ranging from about 50
miles to up to 300 miles. Compared
to the Chinese PHEV market, the U.S.
market had more PHEV models with
lower all-electric range.
Conclusions
In both Chinese and U.S. markets, con-
sumers in a handful of cities make up
the majority of electric car sales, and
a few cities are very successful in pro-
moting electric vehicles. The top 30
cities in electric car market share in
both countries contribute to over 70%
of the total national electric car market
in 2017, while making up approximately
40% of the passenger vehicle sales.
In both countries, a small number
of vehicle manufacturers contribute
to the majority of the electric car
market share. Less than 10 brands
made up approximately 90% of the
total electric car market share in both
countries in 2015 and 2017. In China,
these are all domestic brands or joint
ventures with foreign brands, while a
share of the electric and hybrid vehicle
sales in the United States are imports.
In China, BAIC overtook BYD and
became the leading brand in 2017, and
traditional vehicle manufacturers such
as Dongfeng and Changan started
to take up a larger market share. In
the United States, Tesla had the most
sales of any brand in both 2015 and
2017, taking up about a quarter of the
total market share.
Regional market shares by manufac-
turer in the United States and China
present very different patterns. In
China, brands tend to perform better
in markets where they are headquar-
tered or have a manufacturing facility.
In the United States, leading models
are similar across states as most
automakers have robust nationwide
distribution and dealership networks.
In China, the sales and model availabil-
ity of BEVs are far greater than PHEVs,
while in the U.S. market, there is not a
significant difference between the sales
and availability of two technologies. This
bias in sales towards BEVs increased
between 2015 and 2017 in China, while
in the United States, the PHEV market
grew both in model number and sales.
There are many more manufacturers in
the BEV market than the PHEV market
in China. Both sectors became more
fragmented in 2017, with the previously
dominant brands taking up less market
share. In the United States. the differ-
ence between the two technologies
is not so significant, and the market
tends to be steadier with a bit more
offerings in the PHEV sector in 2017.
Microcars, which are cheaper and have
a shorter all-electric range, continue
to dominate the BEV market in China.
Sales of SUVs took up a larger portion
of the PHEV market in China than in
the United States. The market share of
the SUV segment grew for both PHEV
and BEV in 2017 from 2015 in both
countries.
There is no clear link between model
availability and electric vehicle market
share in China, while in the United
States, areas with more models avail-
able tend to have relatively higher
electric vehicle sales and sales share.
The United States generally had more
models available than China in leading
metropolitan areas in 2017, with an
average of 17 and 13 models, respec-
tively . This phenomenon was similar
in 2015. This warrants further analysis
on potential confounding factors and
how model availability affects electric
vehicle uptake in China.
In both countries, there are more
models covering a wider range of
WORKING PAPER 2019-10

performance metrics in 2017 compared
to 2015, but the distribution patterns
of the metrics are different in the
two countries. In China, the distribu-
tion pattern of model clusters cor-
responds with the design of central
subsidy, with BEVs clustered at 150km
or above in 50km increments, and
PHEVs all having an all-electric range
of 50km (around 31 miles) or more.
The U.S. BEV data present a distinct
bipolar distribution in terms of electric
car driving range, with one peak at
around 50-130 miles and the other at
around 250 miles, primarily driven by
the three Tesla models and Chevrolet
Bolt. Nothing is available in between.
All of the U.S. BEVs analyzed here in
both years were designed to receive
the maximum federal tax credit, while
many of the PHEVs have less than
16kWh battery capacities, and so are
not eligible for the full $7500 credit.
Many consumers bought the vehicles
for other benefits, such as access to
high-occupancy lanes, which is offered
by some states.
WORKING PAPER 2019-10
COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES
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