Ren Xiaochang: Why China stick to pure EV?

Editor's note: The 2009 International Electric Vehicle Innovation and Development Forum was held in Chongqing from October 22nd to 23rd. During the forum Auto.sohu.com held an exclusive interview with Mr. Ren Xiaochang, the president of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute.

Mr. Ren Xiaochang, the president of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute

Sohu Auto: As to the Chinese electric vehicle industry, what technological bottlenecks are we faced with? Which part has reached the international advanced level?

Ren Xiaochang: This is a very professional issue. As to the development of electric vehicles, we have two five-year plans of national scientific and technological research. China has initially mastered some related technologies of electric vehicles. It should be said that we have made some great some great progress. In the field of overall integration technology, we have almost reached the international advanced level. But we have not completely reached the advanced level. There is a great difference between Made-in-China batteries and foreign ones. There are still gaps between China and other countries as to the development of motor. So at present we have just established a preliminary basis for the industrialization of electric vehicles, which only demonstrates the applications of electric vehicles. Electric vehicle has not entered the commercialization stage, meaning that electric vehicle still has a long way to go to be accepted by society and families.

Sohu Auto: Which kind of electric car did you refer to, the pure electric vehicle or the general one?

Ren Xiaochang: I am mainly talking about the pure electric technologies. Fuel technology is an advanced technology and the team from Tongji University has done a great job. We should believe that China has reached an international advanced level in this field. However, the technological development, price and utility of fuel electric vehicles are still quite different from reality. Fuel technology is the most high-end technology and fuel electric car is the ultimate goal. But now we can only do some pioneering work of technological development.

Let me give you a simple example. Hybrid vehicle is a leading product in the world and more importantly it has already gained full access to the commercial stage of application. There has been mass production of hybrid vehicles. Customers can drive a hybrid car as an ordinary vehicle. And that's the goal we are pursuing. At present in China there is no such a pure electric which can reach the same level as the hybrid cars.

Sohu Auto: So battery is the technical bottleneck that we have mentioned previously.

Ren Xiaochang: Battery is a major concern. There is a great gap between home and abroad. Lithium battery is the main direction, but it is still in the initial development stage. China is still far behind foreign countries in the field of industrial density of fuel and reliability. Now we are able to guarantee 30,000 kilometers. But we should at least reach the level of 100,000 kilometers. In addition, the cost is too high. Now in China the cost is 3000 Yuan/kW.

In such circumstances, China has issued many preferential policies. However, this does not mean that we can produce electric vehicles. At present the policy is mainly aimed at supporting the public transportation system. In this sense, public transportation is doing some demonstrations with state subsidies and commercial operation has not started yet. So we can afford to buy an electric car but can not maintain the vehicle. So these factors just have restricted the development of electric vehicles.

Sohu Auto: How can we narrow the gap between home and abroad?

Ren Xiaochang: The major gap just lies in the aspect of technological level. First of all, China should strengthen scientific research. Our expert group has held a number of discussions. There is lack of technological research and we should inject more capital into related R&D projects. Now electric vehicle is mainly relying on the Ministry of Science which has allocated special funds to support several programs. In other countries, in addition to the government guidance, enterprises also offer great support. There are even joint development programs by business alliances. Therefore we should increase the investment and promote the R&D of technologies. The next issue is industrial scale.

Electric vehicle industry is not only different from the traditional automobile industry, but also shares some similarities. The most important difference is the entire power system and for electric vehicle it includes the battery industry and motor industry. The motor industry is not merely a matter of installation of motors. There is specificity about automotive motors. Currently motors are mainly produced by small businesses since large enterprises just distain that market. Small businesses are just lack of technological power and investment capital. There are great gaps in the production conditions. Relatively speaking, this is also a factor. The next step for China is to attach more importance to the development of emerging industries. We should offer more support to increase investment for technology development, especially in terms of venture capital.

It is important to encourage some innovative industries to support the development of related motor parts of new-energy cars. Why the new energy sector is so popular? Many people are optimistic about this direction. China will direct more funds into new energy industry to increase investment in the field of battery, motor and electrical system.

Meanwhile, it is also important to promote community advocacy work to help people understand and accept electric vehicles. China's consumption concept is quite different from the foreign idea. In foreign countries, the development of electric vehicles usually starts with a low-volume level. That may be very different from Chinese consumers' habits.

Starting from small cars, China may not have essential technologies and energies compared with other countries. Without proper reliability we can not support a large-scale system and the cost is very high. Admittedly small car is the direction of electric vehicles. China should find her own way.

Sohu Auto: Some domestic automakers are not as powerful as some foreign ones, such as Honda and Toyota. Now is it a good way to establish an alliance of electric cars?

Ren Xiaochang: It should be said that we have accumulated experience after several years and founded an industry alliance. For example, the city of Chongqing has founded an innovative system within the system of science and technology. An Electric Vehicle Industry Alliance has formed which is led by Chang’an Group. Those two alliances prove that we should depend on a union rather rely on single corporation. Within an alliance we can share resources with each other and build a unified platform. Through communication we can improve R&D level and develop faster and better. With relatively low cost we can enjoy a fairly good result.

Industry alliance can collaborate with each supporting factory for collaborative development. We can supply batteries for Chang’an Group and know what the mainstream technology is. When Chang’an plans to produce 100,000 units, we will invest capitals to found an industrial foundation faster. Therefore our OEMs are well supported and better products will be produced.

I personally believe that we should combine the R&D with production in the future to promote our technological innovation, no matter which kind of alliance we choose, a technology one or an industry one.

Sohu Auto: There are many sub-fields of new energy vehicles. What the future path of the development of new energy cars is? What troubles will we face?

Ren Xiaochang: China has been very concerned about this issue. A group of experts have held a series of seminars to discuss what our technical strategy should be. Some relevant state ministries and commissions also organized special policy research. Based on the experience from home and abroad and a large amount of technological analysis, we now determine that electric vehicle is the leading direction for the transformation of China's automobile industry.

I think that is a right choice. But since the related technologies of pure electric vehicles can not meet the commercial demand, there is still a long way to go. We have made different choices in each stage. Therefore we have to carry out a transition program. If the program is done well, we can save energy as well as reduce pollution emissions.

With our battery technology improving continuously, the cost will be reduced. When the application of electric vehicles becomes more and more widely under the commercial stage, we will finally achieve the transition to pure electric vehicles. In different stages we may choose different main directions. In the primary period, hybrid is the main choice. In the next 20 or 30 years, electric vehicle may be the mainstream. Currently hybrid vehicle is a more realistic option.（Translator：Qinghua/Hanxin）

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