China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest electric car market, with sales estimated to be between 220,000-250,000 in 2015, according to a statement from the China Association of Automobile Manufactures (CAAM) on Saturday.
Worldwide electric cars sales will hit a record 600,000 and the figure for the U.S. market will be around 180,000, said Xu Yanhua, deputy secretary-general of the CAAM.
Xu also said quality instead of quantity should be prioritized in order to have sustainable development of the industry, despite the prosperous market performance. In particular, vehicle safety and the quality of batteries should be carefully examined and supervised, she added.
The promotion of electric vehicles has garnered worldwide support in recent years in order to reduce pollution.
China’s new energy vehicle sales have seen explosive growth in the past two years, due to the government’s policies to support the industry including subsidies and tax cuts. In the first ten months, sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 171,145, an increase of 29 percent year on year, according to the CAAM.