Auto parts makers line up for slice of China's EV market

As a promising future market for environmentally friendly vehicles, China has become the battlefield for international automobile parts manufacturers to wrestle for market share in the electric vehicle sector.

"The car of the future will be the electric vehicle - there is no doubt about that. Bosch is devoting substantial research efforts to the electric power train and batteries," said Uwe Raschke, member of the board of management for the Bosch Groupin charge of Asia-Pacific market.

"Whilst we expect new and existing drive train technologies to be present in the market in parallel for many years, electric vehicles will continuously gain market share, especially in China."

In addition to Bosch, an auto parts maker with over 30 years of experience in new energy vehicle technology, US industry newcomer Better Place, an electric vehicle services provider established in 2007, is also focused on the China market.

"With only 2 percent of China's population owning cars and 80 percent of sales in 2009 to first-time car buyers, China has the opportunity to create and lead an entirely new category around clean transportation," said Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place.

The technology company recently signed an agreement with Chery Automobile Co, the country's largest independent auto producer and exporter, to collaborate on electric vehicle technology in the world's largest auto market.

Under the terms of the agreement, Better Place and Chery will jointly develop switchable-battery, electric vehicle prototypes with the goal of securing regional government electric vehicle pilot projects and provide consumers affordable electric cars.

"We are also looking for cooperative opportunities with other Chinese automakers to develop cars that use our network of electric vehicle battery switch stations and charging spots," said Agassi of Better Place

China has set an objective of becoming the largest electric vehicle developer and manufacturer in the world, enabling the country to leapfrog internal combustion engine technology and go straight to electric transport.

As the world's second-largest consumer of oil behind the United States, which historically has led the combustion-engine-vehicle market, and ahead of Japan, the leader in hybrid technology, by 2020, China is expected to import 65 percent of its oil needs.