Hybrid Powertrains - A New Opportunity
The Chinese New Energy Vehicle strategy transformed China some time ago into the leading market for alternative powertrain solutions. Unlike the European BEV-only strategy, which is combined with a ban on the sale of cars with combustion engines, China's technology-neutral industrial policy has resulted not only in technology leadership in the field of electric vehicles, but also in obvious market acceptance. As a consequence, the sales figures of local manufacturers now exceed those of the global suppliers which previously played a dominant role. The success and the technology leadership of these affordable BEV platforms on the domestic market have encouraged or even pushed the manufacturers into selling their products worldwide, in part because the local market for BEVs is now reaching saturation point.
Another success story for Chinese manufacturers in the context of the NEV strategy is the introduction of new PHEV solutions, which were presented at Auto China 2024 in Beijing. Electric ranges of 100 km or more combined with combustion engines newly developed in China result in total ranges of over 1000 km, which in future could be CO2-neutral, if the engines are run on synthetic fuels. At the International Vienna Motor Symposium, Aurobay announced the start of production of hybrid powertrains with serial range extenders.
Will the success of PHEVs in China affect the variety of hybrid vehicles available in Europe? Because of the lack of a strategic political focus on the continent, the emphasis up until now has been on the end of the availability of affordable HEV variants, despite the fact that PHEVs and range extenders in combination with synthetic fuels could lead to technology and market leadership for European producers.
Intelligent technological diversity from a political and industrial perspective and with a focus on the market will promote competition, innovation, and economic success and accelerate the global benefits for the climate.