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Rise of EVs poses opportunity for global auto industry

2021/04/29 | By EDN

The electric vehicle (EV) trend is leading the auto industry's post-pandemic transformation. The Ministry of Economic Affairs Department of Statistics stated on Thursday that with the rising awareness of energy conservation, carbon reduction, and environmental protection, countries have announced bans on fuel vehicles and introduced subsidy policies in response. Under the problematic global pandemic situation, EVs continued to see breakthroughs and transformation of the industry. For instance, Taiwan's auto suppliers continued to invest in EV-related technologies: in 2020, the EV industry value exceeded NTD$9.7 billion, while this year, due to the optimistic outlook, the industry is expected to cross the NTD$10 billion threshold.

The Statistics Department has named the EV sector a global trend. According to the IEA report, global electric vehicle sales were 2.1 million units in 2019. It is expected that despite the impact of the epidemic, it will continue to grow in 2020. It is estimated that more than 3 million vehicles will be sold, increasing the market share among overall cars to 4.4%.

Moreover, electric vehicles are also the main force driving the number of new car listings in China. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs statistics, the number of new electric car listings in my country will accelerate to 48,047 in 2020, an annual increase of 59.6%, accounting for the total number of new car listings. The proportion of EVs now exceeds 10%, becoming the primary contribution to automobile sales growth.

The Statistics Department also reiterated the impact of the pandemic on the automotive industry supply chain. However, as Taiwan has advantages in manufacturing communications, security systems, driving assistance systems, and automotive chips, key component suppliers, such as batteries and power components, have successfully entered global car supply chains. In the future, Taiwanese suppliers should make good use of industrial advantages to accelerate R&D for major components and work closely with EV manufacturers.