Competition heats up in race for e-vehicle
TOKYO: Carmakers are shifting away from hybrid vehicles and pouring resources into electric vehicles in the race to develop the next generation of environmentally friendly automobiles.
The shift is being pushed by stronger emissions rules in Europe, the United States and China, as well as lower manufacturing costs for electric vehicles. It does not appear that fuel- cell vehicles that run on hydrogen will become widespread, so carmakers are focusing on electric vehicles.
Overseas regulations on emissions are quickly getting stricter. Starting this summer, some areas of the United States are set to require that a certain percentage of the vehicles sold be emission-free. In addition, hybrid vehicles will lose their environment-friendly status. Europe is planning to strengthen environmental regulations from 2021.
These moves are pushing electronics makers to accelerate mass production of the onboard batteries that power electric vehicles. Panasonic Corp. is trying to increase its sales of onboard batteries to US$ 3.4 billion in fi scal 2018, which would be double the fi scal 2015 level.
Yano Research predicts the global market for electric vehicle batteries in 2020 will be five times larger than in 2015. Mass production is bringing down the cost of batteries.
The Japan Science and Technology Agency estimates manufacturing a battery in 2020 will cost a third of what it did in 2014.
Nissan Motor Co. is considering selling its stake in a subsidiary that makes batteries, with an eye to cutting costs by procuring them from other fi rms. Nissan President Carlos Ghosn has noted that several competitive companies have entered the market.
Meanwhile, the cost of manufacturing equipment that converts hydrogen to electricity for fuel- cell vehicles remains high, and hydrogen fuelling stations have been slow to spread.
US research fi rm IHS Automotive has predicted there will be about 50,000 fuel- cell vehicles produced worldwide in 2026, compared with about 2.16 million electric vehicles, making these the primary type of environment-friendly vehicle.
This underscores why so many companies announced plans in 2016 to enter the electric-vehicle market.
Toyota Motor Corp., which has been focusing on developing fuel- cell vehicles, launched an electric vehicle project and planning office in December last year, and has created a system for seriously pursuing electricvehicle development. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Mazda Motor Corp. have also announced future development plans.
In November last year, Nissan added a model of its Note compact car that runs on electricity produced by a power- generating engine. That same month, the Note was the top- selling new car in the country, overtaking Toyota’s Prius for the No. 1 spot, gaining a strong foothold in the electric-vehicle market.
Germany’s Volkswagen and other overseas carmakers are also on the offensive in the electric-vehicle market, signalling that worldwide competition is all but certain to heat up. — Japan News/Yomiuri