Electric Vehicles

BYD plans to launch vehicles as early as next year, although no specific date has been set. The company is establishing a sales and service network in the region as it finalizes the details. On BYD’s Korea website, there is now a message saying “Hello Korea, Coming Soon.”

The new Long range Single motor model starts at $67,500 with up to 350 EPA-estimated miles driving range. That’s a considerable jump from the Long range Dual motor model with up to 315 miles range, starting at $73,400.

General Motors is teaming up with Reliant Energy to offer free nighttime charging to some Chevy electric vehicle owners in Texas.

Chevy owners who enroll in Reliant’s EV charging plan will receive free nighttime charging through monthly bill credits that offset charges incurred between 11PM. and 6AM, the companies said. Customers must also designate an EV to receive the charging credit through GM Energy’s Smart Charging Portal. (GM Energy is the automaker’s home energy subsidiary, and Reliant is a subsidiary of NRG Energy.)

Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 35% in October from the same month last year, led by a 54% jump in sales in China, market research firm Rho Motion said on Wednesday.

European sales rose just 0.8%, but were up in annual terms for the second straight month and the research firm expects a good end to the year in the region, data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The European auto sector is facing challenges including high production costs, managing the shift to EVs, and an influx of lower-cost vehicles from Chinese rivals.

Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen said in October it planned to shut at least three factories in Germany.

BY THE NUMBERS

Sales of EVs - whether fully electric or plug-in hybrids - reached 1.72 million worldwide in October, Rho Motion data showed.

Sales in China hit a record high 1.2 million vehicles.

In the United States and Canada, EV sales were up 11.4% to 0.16 million, while in Europe, they reached 0.26 million, up slightly on the year but down 14% from September.

In the rest of the world, sales increased 10.9%.

KEY QUOTES

"The Chinese EV market shows no signs of slowing down as it enters the final two strong automotive sales months of the year," Rho Motion said in a statement.

Lester said November and December tend to be seasonally strong months.

Carbon emission reduction goals set in the EU for next year could lead to price cuts as automakers look to boost EV sales to meet targets and avoid fines, he said.

CONTEXT

China's passenger vehicle sales jumped 11.2% in October year-on-year, data from China Passenger Car Association showed last week, led by domestic EV champion BYD.