From China, where energy strategies reach beyond maxing out efficiencies and scrubbing up emissions from gasoline and diesel fuel, comes the BAIC EC electric car that outsold the popular Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S in the first quarter of the year. Unmistakably an economy model, the BAIC EC hatchback is a fitting leader, harking back to when sub-compacts dominated global markets after the oil crises of the last millennium.
Press Statement by BAIC Philippines, “BAIC overtakes Nissan and Tesla with bestselling electric car for first quarter 2018,” 2018:
The BAIC EC has overtaken the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S as the world’s bestselling purely battery-powered electric vehicle. The first quarter 2018 review completed by industry monitor JATO Dynamics puts BAIC EC sales at 25,360 units, giving the Chinese carmaker a comfortable margin over the Nissan Leaf’s 22,124 units and the Tesla Model S’s 11,450. The numbers depict phenomenal 260 percent growth for the BAIC EC since the first quarter of 2017, as compared to the Nissan Leaf’s 47 percent increase and Tesla Model S’s 6 percent decrease.
The BAIC EC leads the battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) category which, along with hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), as well as extended range electric vehicles (EREV) and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs), comprise the industry’s alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) segment. In this context, given how electrics represent a major avenue for curbing the world’s fossil fuel consumption and emissions, it seems appropriate that the BAIC EC sub-compact hatchback comes in ahead of the larger and more sporty Nissan Leaf compact hatchback and Tesla Model S premium mid-size sedan.
The base variant of the Tesla Model S has its motor delivering 362hp with 441Nm of torque to attain a top speed of 249km/h. The Nissan Leaf’s powerplant puts out 147hp with 320Nm of torque to push things up to a max of 150km/h. In contrast, and in context, the bestselling BAIC EC is optimized as a city commuter with an efficient 41hp and 140Nm motor keeping things civil with a top speed of 100km/h,
Consequently, these top-ranking BEVs, which represent a good sampling of all models that are currently on offer across markets, also have efficiency numbers that differ widely. Without needing a full picture of the fuel burnt for generating city grid power, a simple scan of battery capacities and vehicle ranges reveal just how divergent these models are in terms of energy efficiency.
The Tesla Model S with a 60kWh battery giving it a range of 335km manages to get 5.6km per kWh of capacity. The Nissan Leaf, its 40kWh battery giving it a 240km range, is more efficient as it gets 6.0km per kWh. But, best of all, the top-selling BAIC EC has its base variant’s 20kWh battery lasting for 156km and managing to deliver 7.7km per kWh.
This year’s first quarter is also when overall AFV sales broke the million-car mark with a total volume of 1.09 million units after a 21 percent increase over numbers from the same period last year. It seems even more appropriate that, behind this historic million-cars milestone for fossil fuel alternatives, the bestselling battery-powered electric vehicle is the BAIC EC, a sub-compact economy model much like the hatchbacks that started overtaking fuel-guzzling land yachts in the 1970’s.