An electric vehicle (EV) uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. The advancements in battery technology have boosted the driving range of electric vehicles. At the global level, the sales of electric vehicles are increasing continuously, and are set to soar higher in the future.

China and the US are considered as the major markets for electric vehicles. The rising demand for electric vehicles in China is expected to help OEMs strengthen their distribution network and footprints in the global market. The country is now all set to explore market opportunities for electric vehicles in the US. In the recent news on 17th Jan 2019, Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. has announced its plans to strengthen its footprint in the US market by providing passenger electric vehicles. Kandi, which started making electric vehicles in 2013, and is hoping to ship two of its models to the US later this year. This is expected to help China become the primary global supplier for OEMs by building a business case to compete with foreign players.

The increasing environmental pollution and the threat of global warming have accentuated the need to replace petroleum-fueled vehicles with emission-free substitutes. After decades of R&D, the industry has found electric vehicles to be the best substitute of traditional-fueled vehicles.

MarketsandMarkets™ Point of View:

Ibrahim Rassiwala – Senior Research Analyst : Chemicals and Materials, at MarketsandMarkets™, shares his Point of View as mentioned below:

Recently, Volkswagen announced its plan to increase investments in electric vehicles in the US. As part of the plan, Volkswagen will invest USD 800 million in the production of electric vehicles at its plant in Chattanooga and Tennessee. Additionally, the company stated that electric vehicle production would begin in 2022 and it is looking to manufacture luxury Audi vehicles in the US. Moreover, Volkswagen has plans to add electric vehicle production facilities in Germany by the end of 2019.

The launch of a self-driving vehicle has become a decisive focal point of automotive stakeholders. They have invested billions of dollars and put their best resources for completing the task of making autonomous cars a reality. Currently, a vehicle is equipped with a variety of electronic components and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to sense the environment around it and exchange signals with entities outside it. The entire process of communication with external entities requires a huge amount of data that is generated and used to implement machine learning with algorithms in the computer system of the vehicle. This is how OEMs and automotive Tier I suppliers along with non-automotive players plan to make autonomous vehicles a reality. Hence, reliable automotive software is the ultimate key to implementing AI and develop semi-autonomous and autonomous cars.

Varroc Group made an announcement to invest in the development of electronic fuel injection (EFI) system which are complaint with the upcoming Bharat Stage (BS) VI standard for two wheelers and three wheelers. To reap the market benefits based on the upcoming regulation, Varroc entered into a joint venture with Dellorto, an Italian company, for producing EFI systems and has already won a business contract from a key two-wheeler manufacturer in India. Further, it also plans to produce catalysts in partnership with Heraeus (Germany) to withstand the BS-VI requirements. These catalysts would be offered to the company’s key client—Bajaj—and some other Indian two wheeler manufacturers in the coming future.

Recently, Hyundai Motor Group announced “FCEV Vision 2030” plan to extend its support for the development of a hydrogen society. As part of the plan, Hyundai and Kia would increase their annual production capacity for fuel cell systems from 3,000 units at present to 700,000 units by 2030. The increased production would include 500,000 units for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, while the remaining 200,000 units are planned for other applications. The automaker also plans to supply its fuel cell systems to manufacturers of automobiles, drones, vessels, rolling stocks, and forklifts.