Taiwanese manufacturers are making a splash in the emerging electric vehicle market.
Governments around the globe are promoting the use of electric vehicles (EV) in response to growing environmental concerns and surging oil prices. In March 2012, for example, US President Barack Obama launched the EV Everywhere project, which aims to make EVs affordable to the average American family by improving technologies and reducing costs. Meanwhile, in light of the business potential of the EV sector, vehicle makers are also ramping up their research and marketing efforts.
In Taiwan, both the government and the private sector have been investing in EV development. Jerry Wang (王正健), director of the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Promotion Office, which was set up in 2010 under the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ (MOEA) Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), notes that urbanization and high population density make Taiwan an ideal place for EVs. “Those are benefits for developing EVs,” he says. “Since people generally don’t have too far to travel, it’s easier for them to cope with ‘range anxiety’—the fear of running out of electricity before they’ve reached their destination.”
The development of electric motorcycles holds great promise for Taiwan, as approximately two-thirds of Taiwan’s 22 million motor vehicles are motorcycles and scooters. The government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan started research and development work on electric motorcycles in 1992 under a commission from the MOEA’s Bureau of Energy. The manufacturing of electric motorcycles was later designated by the Executive Yuan as a primary sector for development, and companies investing in the field were granted tax incentives.
“Motorcycle” is a general term for a two-wheeled motorized vehicle. More specifically, however, the motorcycle and the scooter are somewhat different in design. The motorcycle’s gas tank sits in front of the seat, and the rider straddles the seat with each foot resting on a footpeg on either side of the bike, rather like riding a horse with the feet in stirrups. The scooter, on the other hand, usually has its gas tank situated beneath the seat, and the rider places both feet together on a platform in front of the seat, similar to sitting on a chair.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has also been promoting electric motorcycles to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA launched a program encouraging the use of electric motorcycles in 1998 that provided a subsidy of NT$33,000 (US$1,000) for each vehicle purchased. “The program managed to reduce the price of an electric motorcycle to that of a gasoline-powered model, but it didn’t really stimulate demand,” Wang says. “Not many people became interested because neither the product nor the battery-charging infrastructure was good enough.” It took six to eight hours, for example, to charge a motorcycle’s lead-acid battery and its range was limited to no more than 30 kilometers at a very low speed. For the duration of the EPA program, which lasted until 2002, only about 26,000 electric motorcycles were ever purchased. The Republic of China government remained undeterred by these difficulties, however, and started a series of measures to promote electric scooters, or e-scooters, in 2009.
Taiwan has 15 manufacturers of e-scooters, for which domestic sales between 2009 and 2013 reached close to 32,000 units. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
Wang notes that establishing recognized standards is important for efficient development of the e-scooter industry. Such standards guide the government in setting up industrial development strategies and subsidizing qualified products and manufacturers. The e-scooter industry is a relatively new market for private companies, and establishing industrial standards can help identify the most expedient route for successful product and business development. As such, in 2009 the government announced the implementation of the Taiwan E-Scooter Standard (TES) to establish the baseline for the acceleration, cruise range, durability, hill-climbing capacity and lithium-ion battery safety level of e-scooters. Other measures include requiring e-scooter makers to provide maintenance, recharging, repair and roadside assistance services. A program that provides subsidies from both the central and local governments was also launched in 2009. Total subsidies for an e-scooter are between NT$21,000 and $34,000 (US$700 and $1,130) in most cities or counties. Depending on the make, an e-scooter is priced between NT$33,000 and $55,000 (US$1,100 and $1,800) after subsidies, which is about the same as the gasoline-powered versions.
Meanwhile, manufacturers have been working on faster, lighter and longer-range models equipped with batteries that require less charging time. For example, China Motor Corp.’s (CMC) e-moving EM50, which entered the market in 2010, can travel 45 kilometers per hour with a cruise range of 40 kilometers, while recharging takes about two hours. The more powerful e-moving EM100 launched in 2013 has a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour and maximum range of 60 kilometers, while the battery can also be charged in two hours. Between 2010 and 2013, CMC sold about 18,300 units, which accounted for 57 percent of all domestic e-scooter sales during that period.
CMC president Liu Hsin-tai (劉興臺) says that the benefits of e-scooters include zero emissions and a lower energy cost. While NT$1 (US$0.03) of gasoline keeps a small scooter going for between 1 and 1.5 kilometers, NT$1 of electricity allows an e-scooter to run for between 15 and 20 kilometers. His company began dedicating resources to the development and production of e-scooters in 2008 as a way of reducing energy consumption and promoting greener transportation, he says.
In addition to their ongoing research, manufacturers have started promoting short-distance, fixed-route applications for their products. For instance, in 2010 CMC began providing e-scooter rental services in the popular tourist destination of Shuangxi District of New Taipei City in northern Taiwan. Likewise, Taichung City in central Taiwan started an e-scooter rental service last year that encourages visitors to tour the city using a green vehicle. Since 2011, traffic wardens in various cities have even been dispensing parking tickets from the seats of electric scooters.
More than 90 percent built in-house by Taiwan’s Pihsiang Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Co., the Achensa electric city car has already found customers in several European countries. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
Fuel and Emissions
Chen Shi-zhen (陳世楨), general manager of Taiwan International Development Co. Ltd., which specializes in parking facility management, says that about 8,000 scooters are used to issue parking tickets in Taiwan, and that each of them travels about 100 kilometers a day. This represents 16 million liters of gasoline consumption and 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. “That’s a lot of fuel and emissions,” he says. An e-scooter saves about NT$50,000 (US$1,670) in annual fuel and maintenance costs compared with its gasoline-powered counterpart. After careful evaluation, Chen’s company started to equip its parking enforcement personnel in Taitung City, eastern Taiwan with e-scooters in 2011. Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung City and northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City have since followed suit.
Another potential market for electric motorcycles can be found on Taiwan’s outlying islands, where a short-distance commute is the norm in the daily life of local inhabitants and where tourists are frequent visitors. Penghu, which lies in the Taiwan Strait and saw its number of TES-certified e-scooters increase from 10 in 2010 to 3,464 by the end of 2013, is a case in point. “We try to make Penghu a place where e-scooters are just as convenient as gasoline-powered bikes,” says Yu Ji-shen (于繼駪), who runs about 20 shops offering e-scooter rental services in Penghu. Yu’s clients include tourists, university students and the staffers of government agencies. He notes that in addition to more than 300 charging stations in 27 locations in Penghu, there are about 30 convenience stores and gas stations that provide a 24-hour battery-swap service to help minimize range anxiety. “Even if you miss them all and run out of power in the middle of the road, you’re just a phone call away from having a newly charged battery delivered to you,” he says. Kinmen and Xiaoliuqio islands to the west of Taiwan have also set up e-scooter rental services. Green Island off the east coast is planning on doing so as well.
Meanwhile, the number of organizations using e-scooters is also on the rise, as both enterprises and government agencies use them not only to cut costs, but also to build greener images.
Judging from the total sales of e-scooters, however, the public has yet to embrace green transportation fully. In 2009, when the government launched its promotion initiative, it set the goal of increasing the number of electric motorcycles to 160,000 by the end of 2013. Statistics from the IDB, however, show that from 2009 to 2013, domestic sales of e-scooters reached no more than 32,000 units, while annual sales of gasoline-powered two-wheelers reached between 600,000 and 700,000 units. Currently, there are 15 e-scooter manufacturers in the domestic market, and this includes all the major gasoline-powered motorcycle manufacturers. “The biggest remaining challenges are a limited cruising range and an insufficient number of charging facilities,” Wang says. “It’s not a pleasant thing when you forget or don’t have time to recharge. You suddenly notice that your battery is getting low, and have no idea if you can make it to the nearest charging or battery-swap station.”
Similar to its initiatives for the promotion of e-scooters, the government started to encourage development and use of electric cars in 2010, although carmakers had already been working on EV development for several years. The Yulon Group, Taiwan’s largest automaker, for example, started EV development in 2005 and came out with the Tobe in 2009 and the Luxgen EV+ in 2010. Specifications from Yulon show that the Tobe can travel 100 kilometers with a fully charged battery, and the Luxgen EV+ minivan has a maximum cruise range of 200 kilometers. Car rental service CarPlus, however, recommends a “safe” range of 50 to 60 kilometers for the Tobe and 100 kilometers for the Luxgen.
Staff members from the Office of the President of the Philippines take a trial ride on the Race 150 electric bus made by Taiwan’s RAC Electric Vehicle Inc. (Photo by Central News Agency)
RAC Electric Vehicle Inc. in Taoyuan County, on the other hand, has specialized in electric buses since the firm’s establishment in 2005. Unlike manufacturers of smaller, lighter EVs that build most of their products in-house, RAC works with domestic and international companies on e-bus battery, chassis and electric motor design, as well as on the assembly and engineering of electric vehicles. In 2011, RAC’s Race 150 passenger bus became Taiwan’s first road-licensed electric bus, and it has been put into service by public bus companies in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City. In 2012, RAC even exported one of its buses to the Philippines for a trial run. RAC chairman Alex Tsai (蔡易忠) points out that his father founded the company at the late age of 70 because he saw great potential in the EV bus market. “Established large carmakers aren’t really interested in the idea of electric buses,” he says. “That allows an opportunity for small companies to develop a niche.”
Currently, there are 11 electric car manufacturers in Taiwan. As with e-scooters, marketing of electric cars tends to be aimed at corporate users or the rental market. According to an analysis released by the government-funded Automotive Research and Testing Center earlier this year, the governments of New Taipei City, Taichung City and southern Taiwan’s Tainan City all use electric cars. Altogether, more than 43,000 people have taken trips in electric cars in the Taipei region and around Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County, central Taiwan—the only two places where electric car rental services are currently available.
A pleasant sightseeing ride or city tour, however, does not mean that people are ready to use electric cars for daily transportation. Wang notes that the domestic market for electric cars faces the same problems as that for electric motorcycles: an insufficient charging infrastructure and a certain amount of consumer distrust. Total domestic sales of electric passenger cars came to only about 300 units by the end of 2013, and there are only 490 charging stations in Taiwan. “People know the benefits of EVs but still opt for the gasoline-powered models even when given the choice of an equally priced EV,” he says. “The convenience and familiarity of gasoline-powered vehicles is hard to beat.”
Although there is still a long way to go in cultivating the domestic market, Taiwan’s EV manufacturers have already seen success in the export market. Between 2009 and 2013, for example, Taiwan exported about 19,000 e-scooters. Wang notes that serious interest in EVs only started a decade or so ago. And since the technology for manufacturing EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles is different, new supply chains are required for EVs. “This means Taiwan is at the same starting point as other countries,” he says, adding that Taiwan can make its EVs stand out in the export market by applying its information and communication technology to provide driver information and improve safety systems.
Most of Taiwan’s manufacturers in the EV industry, however, are small and medium-sized enterprises that lack the ability and budget for international marketing campaigns. To help them break into the global market, the government began organizing the EV Taiwan exhibition in 2011. According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the show’s organizer, the first EV Taiwan featured 68 exhibitors and attracted about 18,000 visitors, 1,660 of whom were foreign buyers. In the most recent show held in April this year, the number of exhibitors increased to 92 and 7,000 of the nearly 51,000 visitors came from abroad. “From batteries and motors to car electronics and electricity management systems, EV Taiwan offers buyers one-stop shopping for all related products,” Wang says.
Taiwan saw its first EV rental service in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District in 2012. (Photo by Central News Agency)
Compact Urbanite
One of the exhibitors at the April show was Hsinchu-based Pihsiang Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Co., which shipped the first batch of its Achensa EVs to Europe in August 2013. A very compact two-seater designed for urban transportation, the Achensa has a cruise range of 85 kilometers, while charging takes only 90 minutes. According to Donald Wu (伍必翔), who founded the company in 1983 to manufacture electric wheelchairs and personal mobility devices, 90 percent of the Achensa’s components—including the battery pack, body, chassis, electronics and management system—are manufactured in-house or by affiliates.
While Pihsiang claims to be Taiwan’s first whole-car exporter, hundreds of local manufacturers of EV-related parts have played a role in the global EV chain for quite some time. For example, US-based sports EV manufacturer Tesla Motors once planned to set up a factory in Taiwan to take advantage of the country’s complete supply chain for the industry. Although the project was terminated, the company continues to source key parts from Taiwan, as the dropdown gearbox, motor and some other parts of the Tesla Roadster are supplied by Taiwanese manufacturers.
EVs are still a recent arrival in the transportation industry compared with gasoline-powered vehicles. Few people, however, would disagree that the sector is poised to see fast growth. Aiming to play a role in this market, Taiwan has already started its engine and is ready to accelerate.
Write to Jim Hwang at cyhuang03@mofa.gov.tw