Ford to Create New Brand of Electric Cars in China, GM Sells $5,000 Electric Car

by Mish

“Ford announced plans on Tuesday to form a new joint venture with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co., a Chinese brand that specializes in all-electric vehicles.

Ford and Zotye are exploring a 50:50 partnership to produce a line of electric vehicles. Ford said the cars would be sold under a new brand, but did not offer additional details.

China already accounts for 40% of all electric cars sold worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency. Zotye, which does not produce gas or diesel cars, sold more than 16,000 electric vehicles through July this year — a 56% increase from the same period in 2016.

Bill Russo, managing director at Gao Feng Advisory Company, said Ford is the first global automaker to partner with a local firm that exclusively produces electric cars.”

GM Sells $5,000 Electric Car

Counting government incentives, GM is Selling a $5,000 Electric Car in China.

“General Motors will start selling a tiny electric car in China this week that will cost about $5,300 after national and local electric vehicle incentives, according to GM.

For that sort of price, the Baojun E100 is no Cadillac, of course. The two-seat car’s wheelbase — the distance from the center of the front wheels to the center of the rear wheels — is just 63 inches. That’s about 10 inches shorter than Daimler’s (DDAIF) Smart ForTwo, a car that is already remarkable for its stubby proportions.

The E100, which is Baojun’s first electric car, is powered by a single 39-horsepower electric motor and has a top speed of 62 miles an hour. The E100 can drive about 96 miles on a fully charged battery, according to GM (GM).

Baojun is a mass-market car brand from General Motors’ SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture in China. It’s China’s eighth most popular car brand, according to data from LMC Automotive, ranking below brands like Volkswagen, Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC) and Buick.”

India to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030

Finally, please consider India to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030

“India is one of the world’s most polluted countries. Its energy department said in a blog post that it has set the “ambitious” target to stop selling gas-powered vehicles in an attempt to clean up its air.

As the country’s economy has boomed, new industries and commuters have spewed pollutants in the air at staggering rates. Now, its 1.3 billion residents are suffering. One estimate says India’s air contributes to 1.2 million deaths per year. Doctors have said breathing the air in New Dehli, the nation’s capital, is like smoking 10 cigarettes a day.

India’s energy minister, Piyush Goyal, said recently that the country will help facilitate the electric car effort by offering subsidies for a couple of years. “After that,” he said, “the cost of electric vehicles will start paying for themselves.”

Tesla hasn’t actually entered the Indian market yet, but Musk has frequently talked about his plans to open up shop there. He said earlier this year that it could happen by summer, but those plans appear to be delayed.

India is anxiously awaiting Tesla’s arrival. Even the head of Mahindra, India’s leading electric carmaker, told Musk he’ll welcome the competition.”

Tesla Challenge

Time you got out here Elon. You don’t want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier–and greener..! https://t.co/IPoA9viDRN

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 2, 2017

Greener Grass

Will electric cars really be greener?

If China or India burn coal to produce the electricity to recharge the batteries they sure won’t be.

Nuclear has its own set of problems as Japan found out.

Natural Gas?

OK but China wants to be energy independent and it has a lot of coal. Natural gas is expected to account for only 10% of Chinese energy needs by 2020 according to Wikipedia.

“Considering China’s immense demand for energy, gas plays a relatively small role in its energy use, with only 5% of total energy in 2012. However, Chinese authorities see natural gas as a lower-polluting and less carbon-intensive alternative to coal, and gas consumption is increasing rapidly. Natural gas is expected to supply 10% of the nation’s energy supply by 2020.

China produced 112 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2013, making it the sixth largest gas producer in the world.Gas production more than doubled over the period 2005-2013.

Despite rapidly rising natural gas production, in 2013 China imported 52 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making it the world’s fifth largest gas importer. Imports increased more than tenfold in the period 2008-2013. China has worked to diversify its sources for natural gas imports.”