terranMarine
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@Nihonjin1051 When i was in Osaka i also noticed some bikers cycling on the pedestrian road lol
Sharing Economy Sees Rapid Growth in China
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terranMarine
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Yes, yes ! Not just on Osaka, even in Sapporo !
LOL!
Had to move aside if i didn't want to be run over
AndrewJin
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Yep.
TaiShang
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'Green bikes' take to the roads in Nairobi
2015-07-27
A saleswoman chats with a customer about e-bikes at the Chee Tah store in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo/China Daily)
Chinese-made 'new-energy' vehicles aim to crack the African market with affordable models
Kenya has not been left behind as the world turns to new-energy solutions, with the country adopting a raft of policies related to the green economy, according to the Green Economy Assessment Report 2014 by the United Nations Environment Program.
The policies include implementing renewable energy feed-in tariffs in 2008, embedding sustainable natural resource utilization into its 2010 constitution, and highlighting the green economy in its Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017).
Other moves highlighted in the UNEP report include the adoption of a national climate change response strategy and an action plan that seeks to embrace a low-carbon development pathway.
"Through the Greening Kenya Initiative, the government has developed a database on green economy activities, which highlights efforts such as in manufacturing eco-friendly materials, tree planting, organic farming, fish farming, renewable energy, eco-labeling, and solid waste management and environmental management," the report said.
The document was released after a study commissioned by the UNEP at the request of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
In the same vein, a Chinese-owned company that has been in Kenya since 2011 has introduced several electric bike model aimed at helping to implement a green African economy.
Chee Tah Kenya Ltd, which is based in Central China's Hubei province and manufactures and exports Small Island e-bikes, opened a new store in Nairobi's Lunga Lunga Road in early July.
Small Island bicycles have been a common sight in eastern China for decades, and in 2003 the brand began to make e-bikes.
Zhang Xuefeng, director of Chee Tah Kenya Ltd, said that over the past 12 years, the company has ramped up production to more than 500,000 units in minimum annual output and has sold millions of e-bikes in China and across Asia.
He said the company is focused on introducing e-bikes that are durable, high quality, affordable and environmentally friendly to the African continent. He believes his company's products have the vast potential to positively affect socio-economic development in a short period of time.
"Chee Tah plans to penetrate the African market by having Nairobi as its base," he said. "We chose Nairobi because Kenya has a lot of advantages over other African countries. First, it has a growing working-class population who need reliable transport. It has a vibrant and growing economy, and it also has traffic jams."
As in most African countries, road conditions in Kenya can be poor, which is one of the main factors in a high number of traffic accidents. Kenya has an extensive road network that covers 160,886 kilometers, yet less than 50 percent is considered as being in good condition.
"Our e-bikes travel at speeds of 32 to 48 km per hour," Zhang said. "They can be charged from a regular electricity socket and are extremely affordable.
"For the cost of riding a bus or matatu (privately owned minibus) in the current congestion, and considering the safety concerns attributed to motorbikes and their riders, the e-bike saves time, increases productivity, supports a working nation, and is reliable and cost-effective."
The e-bikes' slower speeds make them a safer option compared with conventional motorbikes, which can reach speeds of 120 km/h and over, he added.
Meanwhile, the National Transport and Safety Authority has threatened to push for higher taxation on motorcycles if industry players do not help to curb the number of accidents.
"We'll push the government to re-introduce the punitive tax on the sector if the companies involved don't work together to educate riders on road safety and discipline," said Francis Meja, the NTSA's director-general.
The NTSA is a national body aimed at harmonizing operations of key road transport departments, as well as helping to effectively manage the transport sub-sectors and minimizing the loss of life through road accidents.
Importers of motorcycles currently pay a 10-percent import duty on completely knocked-down units, or CKD units, which are assembled locally, while fully built units attract a 25 percent tax. In 2008, the authority reduced import tax on CKD units from 16 percent to protect local assemblers against cheap imports.
Zhang said the biggest advantage his e-bikes have over other means of transport in Kenya is that they do not need to be registered with the NTSA because they do not have engines, therefore are not categorized as motor vehicles.
"I held a meeting with the NTSA, and we agreed that, since the bikes do not have an engine capacity, they do need any form of registration."
He also added that the company plans to open an assembly plant in Nairobi in the next five years that will not only reduce the price of the e-bikes, but also provide more employment opportunities for Kenyans. The company currently has a workforce of 30 locals and three Chinese directors.
2015-07-27
A saleswoman chats with a customer about e-bikes at the Chee Tah store in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo/China Daily)
Chinese-made 'new-energy' vehicles aim to crack the African market with affordable models
Kenya has not been left behind as the world turns to new-energy solutions, with the country adopting a raft of policies related to the green economy, according to the Green Economy Assessment Report 2014 by the United Nations Environment Program.
The policies include implementing renewable energy feed-in tariffs in 2008, embedding sustainable natural resource utilization into its 2010 constitution, and highlighting the green economy in its Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017).
Other moves highlighted in the UNEP report include the adoption of a national climate change response strategy and an action plan that seeks to embrace a low-carbon development pathway.
"Through the Greening Kenya Initiative, the government has developed a database on green economy activities, which highlights efforts such as in manufacturing eco-friendly materials, tree planting, organic farming, fish farming, renewable energy, eco-labeling, and solid waste management and environmental management," the report said.
The document was released after a study commissioned by the UNEP at the request of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
In the same vein, a Chinese-owned company that has been in Kenya since 2011 has introduced several electric bike model aimed at helping to implement a green African economy.
Chee Tah Kenya Ltd, which is based in Central China's Hubei province and manufactures and exports Small Island e-bikes, opened a new store in Nairobi's Lunga Lunga Road in early July.
Small Island bicycles have been a common sight in eastern China for decades, and in 2003 the brand began to make e-bikes.
Zhang Xuefeng, director of Chee Tah Kenya Ltd, said that over the past 12 years, the company has ramped up production to more than 500,000 units in minimum annual output and has sold millions of e-bikes in China and across Asia.
He said the company is focused on introducing e-bikes that are durable, high quality, affordable and environmentally friendly to the African continent. He believes his company's products have the vast potential to positively affect socio-economic development in a short period of time.
"Chee Tah plans to penetrate the African market by having Nairobi as its base," he said. "We chose Nairobi because Kenya has a lot of advantages over other African countries. First, it has a growing working-class population who need reliable transport. It has a vibrant and growing economy, and it also has traffic jams."
As in most African countries, road conditions in Kenya can be poor, which is one of the main factors in a high number of traffic accidents. Kenya has an extensive road network that covers 160,886 kilometers, yet less than 50 percent is considered as being in good condition.
"Our e-bikes travel at speeds of 32 to 48 km per hour," Zhang said. "They can be charged from a regular electricity socket and are extremely affordable.
"For the cost of riding a bus or matatu (privately owned minibus) in the current congestion, and considering the safety concerns attributed to motorbikes and their riders, the e-bike saves time, increases productivity, supports a working nation, and is reliable and cost-effective."
The e-bikes' slower speeds make them a safer option compared with conventional motorbikes, which can reach speeds of 120 km/h and over, he added.
Meanwhile, the National Transport and Safety Authority has threatened to push for higher taxation on motorcycles if industry players do not help to curb the number of accidents.
"We'll push the government to re-introduce the punitive tax on the sector if the companies involved don't work together to educate riders on road safety and discipline," said Francis Meja, the NTSA's director-general.
The NTSA is a national body aimed at harmonizing operations of key road transport departments, as well as helping to effectively manage the transport sub-sectors and minimizing the loss of life through road accidents.
Importers of motorcycles currently pay a 10-percent import duty on completely knocked-down units, or CKD units, which are assembled locally, while fully built units attract a 25 percent tax. In 2008, the authority reduced import tax on CKD units from 16 percent to protect local assemblers against cheap imports.
Zhang said the biggest advantage his e-bikes have over other means of transport in Kenya is that they do not need to be registered with the NTSA because they do not have engines, therefore are not categorized as motor vehicles.
"I held a meeting with the NTSA, and we agreed that, since the bikes do not have an engine capacity, they do need any form of registration."
He also added that the company plans to open an assembly plant in Nairobi in the next five years that will not only reduce the price of the e-bikes, but also provide more employment opportunities for Kenyans. The company currently has a workforce of 30 locals and three Chinese directors.
TaiShang
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Le TV has unveiled a “smart bike”—and the move is only slightly crazy
LeTV is quickly transforming itself into an internet holding company that resembles Alibaba and Xiaomi. It’s a media company, an e-commerce company, and a sporting goods company rolled into one.
Yesterday (Aug. 11) at a press event in Beijing, the company unveiled details regarding two of its most ambitious efforts yet: a smartphone and an internet-enabled bicycle.
CEO Jia Yueting says the company has sold a million Le Suprephone handsets in three months. It offers three models of the line: the Le 1, which retails for $230, the Le 1 Pro ($400), and the Le Max ($465).
The company also took the covers off a new “smart bicycle” it’s been working on since October 2014. Known as “Buzzard” and created with the help of China’s iconic bicycle maker Flying Pigeon, it comes equipped with a four-inch screen, a set of speakers, and a fingerprint reader, all of which are integrated with the company’s proprietary Bike OS. Riders can unlock the vehicle using their fingerprints or a smartphone app, and also collect data for things like heart rate and bike speed. There’s even a feature that lets riders communicate with other bike owners through push-to-talk.
The cheapest version of the bike sells for 4,000 yuan (about $622), while a high-end edition with gold handlebars and other perks sells for 40,000 yuan (about $6,200). It will go on sale later this month in China, and the company expects to release it in the US come fall.
LeTV is hoping that hardware will help increase brand loyalty and profits. The company told Quartz in July that its phones are packed with specs for audiovisual lovers.
But the company also has a keen interest in athletics-related hardware. Besides the bike, it intends to release wrist trackers, treadmills, and even drones. With cross-cultural appeal and loyal fan followings, sports is a natural focus for the company. Think GoPro.
“We don’t want to be a company that just licenses content,” a LeTV spokeswoman tells Quartz. “Imagine, if we produce our own drone. The drone will capture the content, but then where will that content go? Through our system.”
@cirr
LeTV is quickly transforming itself into an internet holding company that resembles Alibaba and Xiaomi. It’s a media company, an e-commerce company, and a sporting goods company rolled into one.
Yesterday (Aug. 11) at a press event in Beijing, the company unveiled details regarding two of its most ambitious efforts yet: a smartphone and an internet-enabled bicycle.
CEO Jia Yueting says the company has sold a million Le Suprephone handsets in three months. It offers three models of the line: the Le 1, which retails for $230, the Le 1 Pro ($400), and the Le Max ($465).
The company also took the covers off a new “smart bicycle” it’s been working on since October 2014. Known as “Buzzard” and created with the help of China’s iconic bicycle maker Flying Pigeon, it comes equipped with a four-inch screen, a set of speakers, and a fingerprint reader, all of which are integrated with the company’s proprietary Bike OS. Riders can unlock the vehicle using their fingerprints or a smartphone app, and also collect data for things like heart rate and bike speed. There’s even a feature that lets riders communicate with other bike owners through push-to-talk.
The cheapest version of the bike sells for 4,000 yuan (about $622), while a high-end edition with gold handlebars and other perks sells for 40,000 yuan (about $6,200). It will go on sale later this month in China, and the company expects to release it in the US come fall.
LeTV is hoping that hardware will help increase brand loyalty and profits. The company told Quartz in July that its phones are packed with specs for audiovisual lovers.
But the company also has a keen interest in athletics-related hardware. Besides the bike, it intends to release wrist trackers, treadmills, and even drones. With cross-cultural appeal and loyal fan followings, sports is a natural focus for the company. Think GoPro.
“We don’t want to be a company that just licenses content,” a LeTV spokeswoman tells Quartz. “Imagine, if we produce our own drone. The drone will capture the content, but then where will that content go? Through our system.”
@cirr
TaiShang
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Companies rolls out smart bikes
By Zhang Ye Source:Global Times Published: 2015-8-14 5:03:02
High costs cast doubt over fledgling industry
Photo: IC
While smart cars, smart watches and various smart home appliances are still a novelty for many Chinese consumers, the country's startups and scrappy Internet companies are trying hard to turn another everyday product into an Internet-connected device.
Online video provider Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp (Letv) is one of the latest and most active in trying to carve out its territory in the smart bike market.
The company, which has already drawn a great deal of attention from the public with its recent iteration of the smartphone, has unveiled its intelligent urban bicycles, which will be sold under the brand name of "Buzzard" in the Chinese mainland and the US simultaneously this October, according to a press release sent to the Global Times Tuesday.
CEO Jia Yueting expressed his confidence in the smart bikes, which were self-developed by Letv's sports unit, late on Tuesday during a press conference in Beijing via video. "With the bike, you will completely cast out your original understanding of bicycles," said Jia.
Letv's smart bike, which adopts the self-developed operating system BIKE OS, can track riders' movements, recommend music in accordance with their heart rates, record speed, and be automatically locked or unlocked through smartphone or fingerprint recognition scanner technology.
Internet giant Baidu Inc also jumped onto the bandwagon, initiating a smart bike R&D program, dubbed "DuBike" in April 2014. The company developed the first generation concept design, featuring similar functions as Letv's bike. But the timetable for commercialization of the product has not yet been disclosed to the public.
The smart bike industry could be a promising one in China if companies are able to offer smart bikes that have killer features which attract bike users, He Wenyi, executive director of the China Institute for Sports Value under Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Data from Beijing-based market consultancy Bosi Data Research Center showed that in 2014, sales of bicycles in China reached 62.11 million, up 3.1 percent year-on-year.
However, analysts said the existing high-tech two-wheelers in the market are not smart enough and are not something that most consumers are looking for in the next generation of bicycles.
"Connected with extra smart gadgets such as smart bike pedals, an ordinary bike can also offer most features which the so-called smart bikes in the market have. And most features such as road navigation and recording heart rates while riding can also be realized via smartphone apps," Zhang Qing, CEO of Beijing Key-Solution Sports Consulting Co, told the Global Times.
Smart bikes may currently have a niche market of youngsters who like trying new tech gismos, but the industry will require years to fully take off, said Zhang.
The high price tag, usually around 4,000 yuan ($626.40), is another factor that is dampening the interest of China's price-sensitive commuters such as Yu Qing, a 31-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing.
"If a smart bike only cost between 1,500 yuan and 2,000 yuan, I would consider buying one," she said.
Zhang noted that there is likely to be a cut in costs, as long as Chinese companies secure sufficient orders to bargain with bike parts makers.
Li Cuihua, who started long-distance bicycle riding in the city two years ago, does not think that price is a big problem, but still has no intention of buying a smart bike, and questioned the necessity of smart features for cycling.
"Those showy revamps may make the bike heavier. I would rather choose a bike brand that spends every penny on the development of tires, frames and pedals," he told the Global Times.
Vanhawks Valour $1,249 Toronto start-up Vanhawks, which raised more than CA$820,000 ($631,236) on Kickstarter in 2014, claims to have made the first ever carbon fiber Internet-connected bike.
Thanks to Bluetooth 4.0 incorporated on the 7.25-kilogram carbon fiber frame, the sensor-laden Valour can connect to a companion app that is compatible with both iOS and Android. If you enter your destination on the app, you can enjoy turn-by-turn navigation in the form of LED indicators that are built into the handlebars.
A big change to the century-old pure pedal-powered bike, Valour can self-charge through a Supernova Infinity S Front Dynamo Hub in its front wheel, securing a full charge after one hour of riding.
Buzzard Starley 3,999 yuan ($625)
Equipped with a 3.94-inch color display screen, the Starley enables users to check their heart rates and also offers timely navigation while biking. The screen also adopts a fingerprint recognition scanner technology that protects it from savvy thieves. You can also take a picture or record a video while cycling by just pressing a button on the frame made of aluminum alloy. Starley's Android-based BIKE OS can support smart sports cameras such as the well-established GoPro. There are also another two buttons on the frame that control lights and lock the bike.
One highlight of the Starley is that it supports instant communication between riders on the same frequency domain at a distance of up to five kilometers with a push of the red button on the handlebar. In addition, the two-wheelers are waterproof under moderate rain.
Starley is the standard version of Letv Sports' bikes, adopting a 24 speed Shimano Tourney gear system, while there is also a lighter premium one featuring a 30 speed Shimano Deore and a carbon fiber frame at the cost of 5,999 yuan.
The Samsung Smart Bike, which still has no settled timeframe for commercialization, has a sleek look.
The bike integrates almost all smart components such as Wi-Fi, a digital camera and Bluetooth within the frame, enabling users to control those features via smartphones that can be fixed onto the handlebar.
Thanks to real-time video streaming on Samsung's smartphones, the bike's rear view camera allows riders to see what's behind them.
Riders who wants safer biking are likely to find solutions in the bike, which can project a bike-lane thanks to its four built-in laser beams.
By Zhang Ye Source:Global Times Published: 2015-8-14 5:03:02
High costs cast doubt over fledgling industry
Photo: IC
While smart cars, smart watches and various smart home appliances are still a novelty for many Chinese consumers, the country's startups and scrappy Internet companies are trying hard to turn another everyday product into an Internet-connected device.
Online video provider Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp (Letv) is one of the latest and most active in trying to carve out its territory in the smart bike market.
The company, which has already drawn a great deal of attention from the public with its recent iteration of the smartphone, has unveiled its intelligent urban bicycles, which will be sold under the brand name of "Buzzard" in the Chinese mainland and the US simultaneously this October, according to a press release sent to the Global Times Tuesday.
CEO Jia Yueting expressed his confidence in the smart bikes, which were self-developed by Letv's sports unit, late on Tuesday during a press conference in Beijing via video. "With the bike, you will completely cast out your original understanding of bicycles," said Jia.
Letv's smart bike, which adopts the self-developed operating system BIKE OS, can track riders' movements, recommend music in accordance with their heart rates, record speed, and be automatically locked or unlocked through smartphone or fingerprint recognition scanner technology.
Internet giant Baidu Inc also jumped onto the bandwagon, initiating a smart bike R&D program, dubbed "DuBike" in April 2014. The company developed the first generation concept design, featuring similar functions as Letv's bike. But the timetable for commercialization of the product has not yet been disclosed to the public.
The smart bike industry could be a promising one in China if companies are able to offer smart bikes that have killer features which attract bike users, He Wenyi, executive director of the China Institute for Sports Value under Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Data from Beijing-based market consultancy Bosi Data Research Center showed that in 2014, sales of bicycles in China reached 62.11 million, up 3.1 percent year-on-year.
However, analysts said the existing high-tech two-wheelers in the market are not smart enough and are not something that most consumers are looking for in the next generation of bicycles.
"Connected with extra smart gadgets such as smart bike pedals, an ordinary bike can also offer most features which the so-called smart bikes in the market have. And most features such as road navigation and recording heart rates while riding can also be realized via smartphone apps," Zhang Qing, CEO of Beijing Key-Solution Sports Consulting Co, told the Global Times.
Smart bikes may currently have a niche market of youngsters who like trying new tech gismos, but the industry will require years to fully take off, said Zhang.
The high price tag, usually around 4,000 yuan ($626.40), is another factor that is dampening the interest of China's price-sensitive commuters such as Yu Qing, a 31-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing.
"If a smart bike only cost between 1,500 yuan and 2,000 yuan, I would consider buying one," she said.
Zhang noted that there is likely to be a cut in costs, as long as Chinese companies secure sufficient orders to bargain with bike parts makers.
Li Cuihua, who started long-distance bicycle riding in the city two years ago, does not think that price is a big problem, but still has no intention of buying a smart bike, and questioned the necessity of smart features for cycling.
"Those showy revamps may make the bike heavier. I would rather choose a bike brand that spends every penny on the development of tires, frames and pedals," he told the Global Times.
Vanhawks Valour $1,249 Toronto start-up Vanhawks, which raised more than CA$820,000 ($631,236) on Kickstarter in 2014, claims to have made the first ever carbon fiber Internet-connected bike.
Thanks to Bluetooth 4.0 incorporated on the 7.25-kilogram carbon fiber frame, the sensor-laden Valour can connect to a companion app that is compatible with both iOS and Android. If you enter your destination on the app, you can enjoy turn-by-turn navigation in the form of LED indicators that are built into the handlebars.
A big change to the century-old pure pedal-powered bike, Valour can self-charge through a Supernova Infinity S Front Dynamo Hub in its front wheel, securing a full charge after one hour of riding.
Buzzard Starley 3,999 yuan ($625)
Equipped with a 3.94-inch color display screen, the Starley enables users to check their heart rates and also offers timely navigation while biking. The screen also adopts a fingerprint recognition scanner technology that protects it from savvy thieves. You can also take a picture or record a video while cycling by just pressing a button on the frame made of aluminum alloy. Starley's Android-based BIKE OS can support smart sports cameras such as the well-established GoPro. There are also another two buttons on the frame that control lights and lock the bike.
One highlight of the Starley is that it supports instant communication between riders on the same frequency domain at a distance of up to five kilometers with a push of the red button on the handlebar. In addition, the two-wheelers are waterproof under moderate rain.
Starley is the standard version of Letv Sports' bikes, adopting a 24 speed Shimano Tourney gear system, while there is also a lighter premium one featuring a 30 speed Shimano Deore and a carbon fiber frame at the cost of 5,999 yuan.
The Samsung Smart Bike, which still has no settled timeframe for commercialization, has a sleek look.
The bike integrates almost all smart components such as Wi-Fi, a digital camera and Bluetooth within the frame, enabling users to control those features via smartphones that can be fixed onto the handlebar.
Thanks to real-time video streaming on Samsung's smartphones, the bike's rear view camera allows riders to see what's behind them.
Riders who wants safer biking are likely to find solutions in the bike, which can project a bike-lane thanks to its four built-in laser beams.
Jlaw
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What a cheap guy. Ordinary decent bikes here cost at least $1000 CAD.
TaiShang
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Yesterday I saw a Giant bike on the window of a shop with a price tag of 253.000 NTYuan!
An average (SYM or KYMCO) scooter costs about 60.000NTYuan...
艹艹艹
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Bicycle-renting app Mobike officially launches in Beijing
(People's Daily Online) 16:08, September 02, 2016
Mobikes (Photo/People's Daily Online)
A new bicycle-renting app was launched in Beijing on Sept. 1. The app, named Mobike,allows users to locate and reserve registered bicycles in their area.
Each Mobike bicycle is fitted with a special chip, GPS and sensors, which make it easy tolocate, and which record the routes it travels. Using the app, riders can easily find the"Mobike" nearest to them. They then scan a QR code to unlock it.
Before riding away on a Mobike, customers need to register with their real names and IDcard numbers, and pay a 299-yuan deposit. The rental fee is 1 yuan for every 30-minuteride.
A girl rides a Mobike. (Photo/Official website of Mobike)
Unlike public bicycles, which need to be left and collected in designated areas, Mobikes canbe parked in any roadside public parking areas marked with white lines or any open areasthat do not obstruct traffic. However, riders are not allowed to park the Mobikes in indooror underground parking areas, residential areas or charging stations. The deposit can bereturned to riders when they arrive at their destinations.
But who is responsible if a Mobike gets stolen? A Mobike company official said riders haveno liability for theft as long as they lock the vehicles before walking away. However, if abike is stolen after being left unlocked, the rider has to pay a fine of no less than 2,000yuan, according to the usage rules.
There will be a total of 2,000 Mobikes available in Beijing. Currently, Mobikes can only beused within the fifth ring road due to their limited numbers.
(People's Daily Online) 16:08, September 02, 2016
Mobikes (Photo/People's Daily Online)
A new bicycle-renting app was launched in Beijing on Sept. 1. The app, named Mobike,allows users to locate and reserve registered bicycles in their area.
Each Mobike bicycle is fitted with a special chip, GPS and sensors, which make it easy tolocate, and which record the routes it travels. Using the app, riders can easily find the"Mobike" nearest to them. They then scan a QR code to unlock it.
Before riding away on a Mobike, customers need to register with their real names and IDcard numbers, and pay a 299-yuan deposit. The rental fee is 1 yuan for every 30-minuteride.
A girl rides a Mobike. (Photo/Official website of Mobike)
Unlike public bicycles, which need to be left and collected in designated areas, Mobikes canbe parked in any roadside public parking areas marked with white lines or any open areasthat do not obstruct traffic. However, riders are not allowed to park the Mobikes in indooror underground parking areas, residential areas or charging stations. The deposit can bereturned to riders when they arrive at their destinations.
But who is responsible if a Mobike gets stolen? A Mobike company official said riders haveno liability for theft as long as they lock the vehicles before walking away. However, if abike is stolen after being left unlocked, the rider has to pay a fine of no less than 2,000yuan, according to the usage rules.
There will be a total of 2,000 Mobikes available in Beijing. Currently, Mobikes can only beused within the fifth ring road due to their limited numbers.
AndrewJin
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Good one.
I really like the public bike systems in China.
When I travel in Hangzhou, I will first take subway from the railway station to the lakeside, then rent a public bike which can be found everyhwere.
I really like the public bike systems in China.
When I travel in Hangzhou, I will first take subway from the railway station to the lakeside, then rent a public bike which can be found everyhwere.
艹艹艹
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http://seekingalpha.com/article/400...ill-drive-electric-vehicle-growth-car-sharing
Asian Governments Will Drive Electric Vehicle Growth And Car Sharing
Sep. 21, 2016 4:44 PM ET
Includes:BIDU,BYDDY,F,GM,MMTOF,RNLSY,TSLA,UBER
Nick Co
New incentives rolling out from various Asian governments.
Less rapid take-up rate in North America should not be seen as an indicator of the future of electric vehicles.
New moves in Singapore point the way to the future in Asia.
Asia leading the way in the twin trends of environmental cars and a drift away from private ownership.
This opens up huge investment opportunities for investment in select Asian companies.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a secular trend and their sales volume will grow exponentially in the next few years. Autonomous vehicles will probably become the norm in the future, but regulatory measures will slow down their adoption. People are moving from owning vehicles to sharing or not owning at all.
The exponential growth of EVs will come not only from the well-reported case of China, the world's largest market for EVs. It will also be fired up by smaller countries in Asia. The continent is at the center of this rapid transformation and the economic consequences and opportunities are huge.
These are secular trends and contribute to the poor stock performance of the Big Three auto companies in recent times. For instance, Ford (NYSE:F) has a P/E ratio of only 5.39 and General Motors (NYSE:GM) an even lower one of 3.96. These are ridiculously low if one considers just their sales and profit numbers.
Young people are moving away from car ownership in the traditional model. Lyft (Private:LYFT) co-founder John Zimmer recently quoted figures of how in 1983 92% of Americans aged 20 to 24 had driving licenses. By 2014, that had declined to 77% and the rate of decline is set to quicken. Those that do remain driving will probably do so on the basis of car sharing rather than outright ownership.
He also recentlypredictedthat by 2025 car ownership in U.S. cities will "all but end." One of his investors, GM, might not be so happy to hear this. It may have been more a wish than an accurate prediction as these trends will happen more rapidly in Asia than in the USA.
EVs and their development will likely lead to substantially lesser sales for the conventional car companies though. Arecent studyby the OECD found that such vehicles would reduce the number of cars required by over 80%.
Asian companies, backed by their Governments, stand to gain the most from this.
The World Market
There are good socio-cultural reasons why the EV take-up in North America is slower than many had anticipated. The wasteful gas guzzler is a part of American culture. This is strengthened by the well-funded campaigns by the fossil fuel industries against companies such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and against the science of climate change. Elsewhere in the world, these campaigns are not treated very seriously.
A recentTwitter pollin the USA had 66% of respondents saying they would not expect to be driving an EV until at least 7 years into the future. In Europe and in Asia, the expectation amongst consumers is much greater. It should also be borne in mind that in Europe and Asia, a higher proportion of the population are city dwellers. As such, car sharing and public transport are more obvious alternatives.
In terms ofmarketshare, light-duty plug-in EVs accounted as a portion of total auto sales as follows in 2015:
USA = 0.66%
China = 0.84%
Japan = 1.2%
Netherlands = 9.74%
Norway = 22.39%
United Kingdom = 1.1%
Germany = 0.73%
Figures for EV sales so far this year show a continuing trend:
China continues to be the fastest growing market. It is followed by Japan, and by "Other," which itself is mainly Asian countries.
Two factors are more important than the current bare numbers. Firstly, the rate of growth of EVs in non-North American countries is increasing rapidly. In North America, it is quite stable. Secondly, the Government incentives elsewhere are set to remain in place and/or intensify as time goes by. This is especially so in Asia, which is the focus of this article.
Asian Car Markets
In thefirst quarterof 2016, China increased its position as the world's largest auto market with sales of 6.65 million vehicles. This compares to 4.08 million vehicles in the USA. Japan was the third largest market with 1.46 million vehicles, India the fifth largest with 863,000 and South Korea tenth with 423,000 vehicles.
In the realm of EVs, China is far ahead of the rest of the world.
EV sales for August are shown below.
The savvy investor may want to study the potential investment returns of these Chinese manufacturers. One drawback can be the often opaque financial records available. Note that the most successful non-Chinese company is Tesla, coming in at No. 17 on the list of the 31,000 EVs sold. This August monthly figure is an increase of 95% on the August 2015 sales. 95% of the EVs sold in China are from Chinese manufacturers.
It is expected that 450,000 EVs will be sold in China this year. This would represent approximately 50% of the world market. That makes the official Government target of 3 million EVs by 2025 seem attainable.
Asian sales of autos are increasing rapidly as a proportion of the world total. This is happening concurrently with both standard autos and EVs. This ties in to the long-term trend of Asian countries increasing their share of global GDP. For instance, theworld economygrew by 2.7% in the second quarter of this year. China's grew by 6.7% and India by 7.1%. The two countries combined accounted for 63% of global growth.
In his recent best-seller, "Sapiens" author Yuval Noah Harari points out how in 1775 Asia accounted for 80% of the world economy. India and China represented two-thirds of global production. Then capitalism and its subsequent innovation emerged and Europe seized the day. One does not need to see such long-term trends to see a reversal happening today. With capitalism dominant everywhere in a world economy, the continent with the most people and with a young population will grow the fastest. The auto industry will be symptomatic of this.
China is at the center of both the increasing use and the increasing manufacture of EVs. For instance, BYD Co. (OTCPK:BYDDY) about which Iwrote recentlyis already the world's largest EV manufacturer. From the August sales figures for China I illustrate above, BYD has a 33% market share in China. In a business where economies of scale are vital and entrance into a market is not easy, they appear to have a very strong position.
They have the added advantage of breadth of range. They are manufacturing 3 full-out EVs and 2 PHEVs (plug-in hybrids). This contrasts to Tesla, which is concentrating on non-hybrid models. That leaves out completely the third option, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. That is the way some countries, notably Japan, will go. It might be argued that the market in Asia will be so big that there will be room for all.
BYD's portfolio includes not just electric autos, but also it is the world leader in electric buses. This is a market which is growing fast and is not so niche as some have imagined. Indeed European and American manufacturers appear to have missed the bus somewhat and are arriving late to the party.
BYD has strong vertically integrated businesses in battery manufacture and solar power. There is a similarity with Tesla there. They are also setting up manufacturing plants around the world in locations such as Brazil and California. This can be seen as a reversal of what Western auto companies have been doing in China. In arecent article, I detailed the Western companies rushing to invest in EV manufacturing in China. The flow in the opposite direction might however be more meaningful.
There are plenty of other EV manufacturers in China, producing vehicles of deeply varying quality. These are not just car manufacturing companies switching to EVs. As in the West, IT companies are increasingly becoming involved and linking with auto companies.
For instance, Chinese search engine leader Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is targeting having a fleet of autonomous vehicles up and running by 2021. It is already making trials of an autonomous vehicle in China. It recently received approval from the Authorities in California to test there. Its expertise in mapping and in Artificial Intelligence (AI) make it a strong player in the market. It has recently signed an agreement with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) for further co-operation in AI initiatives.
Baidu sees itself as a software developer in the auto industry and its vehicles would be manufactured by others. It already has an agreement with BYD in this regard. It has also got a financial stake in Uber (Private:UBER). BYD Corp. itself recently had a substantial investment from Korea's Samsung (OTC:SSNLF).
Baidu's success in its search engine business gives it a strong cash position to invest in autos, an advantage Tesla does not have. Similarly BYD has a profitable range of businesses (and a meaningful investment from Warren Buffett) from which to invest in the new technologies. For those wary of investing in Chinese companies, Baidu is traded as an ADR on US exchanges which necessitates it complies with certain accounting standards.
Government incentives for both the manufacture and the usage of EVs will remain in place in China until Government targets are met. It is how the country works. Apart from the pure economic incentives, the strength of Confucianism makes the population much more inclined to follow the dictates of those in Authority than in the more individualistic West. A totalitarian state ruled by technocrats can, in this instance, be more effective than a free-wheeling capitalist country gridlocked by political paralysis.
China is only one player though. Other Asian countries are moving rapidly towards EVs and towards a stress on environmentalism.
Singapore
Singapore is a small and affluent nation-state. Recent moves there point the way to future developments in more substantial countries in Asia.
As I detailed in aprevious article, Singapore was rather slow to get off the mark in regard to EVs. Now, though Singapore is going full steam ahead. There is a Government-led policy in regard to EVs and to autonomous vehicles. This is directed in conjunction with huge expenditure on public transport.
In August, nuTonomy launched a self-driving taxi service (with human backups) using vehicles from Renault (OTCPK:RNLSY) and from Mitsubishi (OTCPK:MMTOF).
nuTonomy is a private company founded by two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates. It is also said to be working on projects in the USA and in the UK (in conjunction with Jaguar Land Rover). It is just in a trial stage at present with a limited number of participants able to summon vehicles using their smartphones. The company hopes to have the service fully up and running by 2018 with 75 vehicles in play. The Mitsubishi is pictured below.
The Renault is pictured below:
A U.K. company Delphi Automotive Systems is targeting a fleet of 50 autonomous vehicles in Singapore by 2022.
The autonomous vehicle initiatives are driven by the Singapore Government, which has set up aself-driving vehicle research centerand test track. This is part of an official Government proclaimed "car-lite Singapore" policy. Singapore is probably the most expensive country in the world to own a car at present.
Meanwhile, this was followed in September by Uber launching an all EV fleet using vehicles from BYD Corp. This is starting immediately with BYD's economical e6 model pictured below:
It is plannedthat 30 vehicles will be on the road by the end of the year. That number is set to increase to 1,000 by 2018. Currently, the e6 can run for about 400 kilometers, but takes two hours to recharge.
The Singapore Government is also conducting trials on electric buses from BYD. This will again be a fast-growing area in Asia.Recent researchin Singapore has emphasized the very harmful effects people waiting at bus stops suffer from the tiny pollutant particles of less than PM2.5 which diesel buses spew out.
South Korea
The world's tenth largest market for autos is moving the same way as Singapore. Its capital, Seoul, used to be known for pollution and traffic gridlock. Recentinitiativeshave been centered around making the capital more environmentally friendly and less car-dependent.
The Seoul Skygarden is a highway being converted into a park. The old city's four main gates have been transformed into an 18.6 kilometer walking track. Bicycle networks have been set up around the city. Increased expenditure has been set aside for the capital's already extensive public transport network. The Government's official policy is to make cars redundant in Seoul by 2030. The Government has admitted it was slow to promote EVs. The EV share of the market last year was just 0.2%. The target is to hit 5.3% by 2020.
Local manufacturers Hyundai (OTC:HYMLF) and Kia (OTC:KIMTF) are coming out with a raft of plug-in EVs and hydrogen fuel cell autos. Tesla set up a sales office there recently.
South Korea is just one example. Elsewhere in Asia, moves to EVs can be seen everywhere. An Indian Government minister has set a goal to have only EVs on the road by 2025. This will not actually happen, but the fact that he felt he should say it is relevant.
Japan now has more electric charging stations than it has gas stations. Or, put another way, it has more than Europe and the USA combined. Fuel cell vehicles are being strongly promoted by the Government and the domestic market is likely to remain dominated by Japanese manufacturers.
In Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region of China, Tesla has a booming business. EVs have the third highest penetration of EV' as a percentage of all cars of any country in the world. Only Norway and the Netherlands have a higher percentage. Doubters who claimed EVs would not work in high density cities where virtually everyone lives in apartments have been proved wrong. The city has over 1300 public charging facilities for EVs. What has happened in Hong Kong, and what is happening now in Singapore and South Korea, is a foretaste of what will happen all around Asia.
Conclusion
The trends of changing to EVs and reducing private car ownership are accelerating rapidly in Asia.
To take just one example. In Singapore, as of August this year, there were 40,000 rental cars on the road. This represented an increase of 173% over 2012. Most of these rental vehicles are owned by Uber and Grab. The latter is a subsidiary of China's Didi Chuxing, in which Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently took a US$1 billion stake. This rental trend leads inevitably to much more efficient use of autos than that of private ownership.
The secular changes in the auto market will be a huge economic opportunity for some companies. Theworld's taxi businessis valued at US$100 billion annually. The market for personal transport is valued at US$10 trillion. At present, ride-hailing accounts for only 4% of all kilometers driven. This figure is forecast to rise to over 25% by 2030. The world's leading car makers have been scrambling to tie up with ride-sharing companies. It is no coincidence that Uber is the world's most valuable start-up.
China will probably represent 50% of the world's EV market this year. The market is 95% controlled by Chinese manufacturers. Asia looks like the auto market with the most exciting opportunities for the investor.
Whether local companies like BYD and Baidu or Western ones like Tesla will benefit the most is for the individual investor to decide. BYD and other manufacturers have the products up and running, but a poor quality image in many cases. Baidu has the IT expertise but needs to secure its position in the auto world. Tesla has the sex appeal and the brand image in Asia, but a small market position in Asia and financing challenges.
The secular trends in autos are most apparent and will move most quickly in Asia. As in the dot.com boom, companies will rise and companies will fall. For the savvy investor though there are huge opportunities.
Asian Governments Will Drive Electric Vehicle Growth And Car Sharing
Sep. 21, 2016 4:44 PM ET
Includes:BIDU,BYDDY,F,GM,MMTOF,RNLSY,TSLA,UBER
Nick Co
New incentives rolling out from various Asian governments.
Less rapid take-up rate in North America should not be seen as an indicator of the future of electric vehicles.
New moves in Singapore point the way to the future in Asia.
Asia leading the way in the twin trends of environmental cars and a drift away from private ownership.
This opens up huge investment opportunities for investment in select Asian companies.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a secular trend and their sales volume will grow exponentially in the next few years. Autonomous vehicles will probably become the norm in the future, but regulatory measures will slow down their adoption. People are moving from owning vehicles to sharing or not owning at all.
The exponential growth of EVs will come not only from the well-reported case of China, the world's largest market for EVs. It will also be fired up by smaller countries in Asia. The continent is at the center of this rapid transformation and the economic consequences and opportunities are huge.
These are secular trends and contribute to the poor stock performance of the Big Three auto companies in recent times. For instance, Ford (NYSE:F) has a P/E ratio of only 5.39 and General Motors (NYSE:GM) an even lower one of 3.96. These are ridiculously low if one considers just their sales and profit numbers.
Young people are moving away from car ownership in the traditional model. Lyft (Private:LYFT) co-founder John Zimmer recently quoted figures of how in 1983 92% of Americans aged 20 to 24 had driving licenses. By 2014, that had declined to 77% and the rate of decline is set to quicken. Those that do remain driving will probably do so on the basis of car sharing rather than outright ownership.
He also recentlypredictedthat by 2025 car ownership in U.S. cities will "all but end." One of his investors, GM, might not be so happy to hear this. It may have been more a wish than an accurate prediction as these trends will happen more rapidly in Asia than in the USA.
EVs and their development will likely lead to substantially lesser sales for the conventional car companies though. Arecent studyby the OECD found that such vehicles would reduce the number of cars required by over 80%.
Asian companies, backed by their Governments, stand to gain the most from this.
The World Market
There are good socio-cultural reasons why the EV take-up in North America is slower than many had anticipated. The wasteful gas guzzler is a part of American culture. This is strengthened by the well-funded campaigns by the fossil fuel industries against companies such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and against the science of climate change. Elsewhere in the world, these campaigns are not treated very seriously.
A recentTwitter pollin the USA had 66% of respondents saying they would not expect to be driving an EV until at least 7 years into the future. In Europe and in Asia, the expectation amongst consumers is much greater. It should also be borne in mind that in Europe and Asia, a higher proportion of the population are city dwellers. As such, car sharing and public transport are more obvious alternatives.
In terms ofmarketshare, light-duty plug-in EVs accounted as a portion of total auto sales as follows in 2015:
USA = 0.66%
China = 0.84%
Japan = 1.2%
Netherlands = 9.74%
Norway = 22.39%
United Kingdom = 1.1%
Germany = 0.73%
Figures for EV sales so far this year show a continuing trend:
China continues to be the fastest growing market. It is followed by Japan, and by "Other," which itself is mainly Asian countries.
Two factors are more important than the current bare numbers. Firstly, the rate of growth of EVs in non-North American countries is increasing rapidly. In North America, it is quite stable. Secondly, the Government incentives elsewhere are set to remain in place and/or intensify as time goes by. This is especially so in Asia, which is the focus of this article.
Asian Car Markets
In thefirst quarterof 2016, China increased its position as the world's largest auto market with sales of 6.65 million vehicles. This compares to 4.08 million vehicles in the USA. Japan was the third largest market with 1.46 million vehicles, India the fifth largest with 863,000 and South Korea tenth with 423,000 vehicles.
In the realm of EVs, China is far ahead of the rest of the world.
EV sales for August are shown below.
The savvy investor may want to study the potential investment returns of these Chinese manufacturers. One drawback can be the often opaque financial records available. Note that the most successful non-Chinese company is Tesla, coming in at No. 17 on the list of the 31,000 EVs sold. This August monthly figure is an increase of 95% on the August 2015 sales. 95% of the EVs sold in China are from Chinese manufacturers.
It is expected that 450,000 EVs will be sold in China this year. This would represent approximately 50% of the world market. That makes the official Government target of 3 million EVs by 2025 seem attainable.
Asian sales of autos are increasing rapidly as a proportion of the world total. This is happening concurrently with both standard autos and EVs. This ties in to the long-term trend of Asian countries increasing their share of global GDP. For instance, theworld economygrew by 2.7% in the second quarter of this year. China's grew by 6.7% and India by 7.1%. The two countries combined accounted for 63% of global growth.
In his recent best-seller, "Sapiens" author Yuval Noah Harari points out how in 1775 Asia accounted for 80% of the world economy. India and China represented two-thirds of global production. Then capitalism and its subsequent innovation emerged and Europe seized the day. One does not need to see such long-term trends to see a reversal happening today. With capitalism dominant everywhere in a world economy, the continent with the most people and with a young population will grow the fastest. The auto industry will be symptomatic of this.
China is at the center of both the increasing use and the increasing manufacture of EVs. For instance, BYD Co. (OTCPK:BYDDY) about which Iwrote recentlyis already the world's largest EV manufacturer. From the August sales figures for China I illustrate above, BYD has a 33% market share in China. In a business where economies of scale are vital and entrance into a market is not easy, they appear to have a very strong position.
They have the added advantage of breadth of range. They are manufacturing 3 full-out EVs and 2 PHEVs (plug-in hybrids). This contrasts to Tesla, which is concentrating on non-hybrid models. That leaves out completely the third option, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. That is the way some countries, notably Japan, will go. It might be argued that the market in Asia will be so big that there will be room for all.
BYD's portfolio includes not just electric autos, but also it is the world leader in electric buses. This is a market which is growing fast and is not so niche as some have imagined. Indeed European and American manufacturers appear to have missed the bus somewhat and are arriving late to the party.
BYD has strong vertically integrated businesses in battery manufacture and solar power. There is a similarity with Tesla there. They are also setting up manufacturing plants around the world in locations such as Brazil and California. This can be seen as a reversal of what Western auto companies have been doing in China. In arecent article, I detailed the Western companies rushing to invest in EV manufacturing in China. The flow in the opposite direction might however be more meaningful.
There are plenty of other EV manufacturers in China, producing vehicles of deeply varying quality. These are not just car manufacturing companies switching to EVs. As in the West, IT companies are increasingly becoming involved and linking with auto companies.
For instance, Chinese search engine leader Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is targeting having a fleet of autonomous vehicles up and running by 2021. It is already making trials of an autonomous vehicle in China. It recently received approval from the Authorities in California to test there. Its expertise in mapping and in Artificial Intelligence (AI) make it a strong player in the market. It has recently signed an agreement with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) for further co-operation in AI initiatives.
Baidu sees itself as a software developer in the auto industry and its vehicles would be manufactured by others. It already has an agreement with BYD in this regard. It has also got a financial stake in Uber (Private:UBER). BYD Corp. itself recently had a substantial investment from Korea's Samsung (OTC:SSNLF).
Baidu's success in its search engine business gives it a strong cash position to invest in autos, an advantage Tesla does not have. Similarly BYD has a profitable range of businesses (and a meaningful investment from Warren Buffett) from which to invest in the new technologies. For those wary of investing in Chinese companies, Baidu is traded as an ADR on US exchanges which necessitates it complies with certain accounting standards.
Government incentives for both the manufacture and the usage of EVs will remain in place in China until Government targets are met. It is how the country works. Apart from the pure economic incentives, the strength of Confucianism makes the population much more inclined to follow the dictates of those in Authority than in the more individualistic West. A totalitarian state ruled by technocrats can, in this instance, be more effective than a free-wheeling capitalist country gridlocked by political paralysis.
China is only one player though. Other Asian countries are moving rapidly towards EVs and towards a stress on environmentalism.
Singapore
Singapore is a small and affluent nation-state. Recent moves there point the way to future developments in more substantial countries in Asia.
As I detailed in aprevious article, Singapore was rather slow to get off the mark in regard to EVs. Now, though Singapore is going full steam ahead. There is a Government-led policy in regard to EVs and to autonomous vehicles. This is directed in conjunction with huge expenditure on public transport.
In August, nuTonomy launched a self-driving taxi service (with human backups) using vehicles from Renault (OTCPK:RNLSY) and from Mitsubishi (OTCPK:MMTOF).
nuTonomy is a private company founded by two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates. It is also said to be working on projects in the USA and in the UK (in conjunction with Jaguar Land Rover). It is just in a trial stage at present with a limited number of participants able to summon vehicles using their smartphones. The company hopes to have the service fully up and running by 2018 with 75 vehicles in play. The Mitsubishi is pictured below.
The Renault is pictured below:
A U.K. company Delphi Automotive Systems is targeting a fleet of 50 autonomous vehicles in Singapore by 2022.
The autonomous vehicle initiatives are driven by the Singapore Government, which has set up aself-driving vehicle research centerand test track. This is part of an official Government proclaimed "car-lite Singapore" policy. Singapore is probably the most expensive country in the world to own a car at present.
Meanwhile, this was followed in September by Uber launching an all EV fleet using vehicles from BYD Corp. This is starting immediately with BYD's economical e6 model pictured below:
It is plannedthat 30 vehicles will be on the road by the end of the year. That number is set to increase to 1,000 by 2018. Currently, the e6 can run for about 400 kilometers, but takes two hours to recharge.
The Singapore Government is also conducting trials on electric buses from BYD. This will again be a fast-growing area in Asia.Recent researchin Singapore has emphasized the very harmful effects people waiting at bus stops suffer from the tiny pollutant particles of less than PM2.5 which diesel buses spew out.
South Korea
The world's tenth largest market for autos is moving the same way as Singapore. Its capital, Seoul, used to be known for pollution and traffic gridlock. Recentinitiativeshave been centered around making the capital more environmentally friendly and less car-dependent.
The Seoul Skygarden is a highway being converted into a park. The old city's four main gates have been transformed into an 18.6 kilometer walking track. Bicycle networks have been set up around the city. Increased expenditure has been set aside for the capital's already extensive public transport network. The Government's official policy is to make cars redundant in Seoul by 2030. The Government has admitted it was slow to promote EVs. The EV share of the market last year was just 0.2%. The target is to hit 5.3% by 2020.
Local manufacturers Hyundai (OTC:HYMLF) and Kia (OTC:KIMTF) are coming out with a raft of plug-in EVs and hydrogen fuel cell autos. Tesla set up a sales office there recently.
South Korea is just one example. Elsewhere in Asia, moves to EVs can be seen everywhere. An Indian Government minister has set a goal to have only EVs on the road by 2025. This will not actually happen, but the fact that he felt he should say it is relevant.
Japan now has more electric charging stations than it has gas stations. Or, put another way, it has more than Europe and the USA combined. Fuel cell vehicles are being strongly promoted by the Government and the domestic market is likely to remain dominated by Japanese manufacturers.
In Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region of China, Tesla has a booming business. EVs have the third highest penetration of EV' as a percentage of all cars of any country in the world. Only Norway and the Netherlands have a higher percentage. Doubters who claimed EVs would not work in high density cities where virtually everyone lives in apartments have been proved wrong. The city has over 1300 public charging facilities for EVs. What has happened in Hong Kong, and what is happening now in Singapore and South Korea, is a foretaste of what will happen all around Asia.
Conclusion
The trends of changing to EVs and reducing private car ownership are accelerating rapidly in Asia.
To take just one example. In Singapore, as of August this year, there were 40,000 rental cars on the road. This represented an increase of 173% over 2012. Most of these rental vehicles are owned by Uber and Grab. The latter is a subsidiary of China's Didi Chuxing, in which Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently took a US$1 billion stake. This rental trend leads inevitably to much more efficient use of autos than that of private ownership.
The secular changes in the auto market will be a huge economic opportunity for some companies. Theworld's taxi businessis valued at US$100 billion annually. The market for personal transport is valued at US$10 trillion. At present, ride-hailing accounts for only 4% of all kilometers driven. This figure is forecast to rise to over 25% by 2030. The world's leading car makers have been scrambling to tie up with ride-sharing companies. It is no coincidence that Uber is the world's most valuable start-up.
China will probably represent 50% of the world's EV market this year. The market is 95% controlled by Chinese manufacturers. Asia looks like the auto market with the most exciting opportunities for the investor.
Whether local companies like BYD and Baidu or Western ones like Tesla will benefit the most is for the individual investor to decide. BYD and other manufacturers have the products up and running, but a poor quality image in many cases. Baidu has the IT expertise but needs to secure its position in the auto world. Tesla has the sex appeal and the brand image in Asia, but a small market position in Asia and financing challenges.
The secular trends in autos are most apparent and will move most quickly in Asia. As in the dot.com boom, companies will rise and companies will fall. For the savvy investor though there are huge opportunities.
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