The trans-Pacific EV competition is heating up

controlling an auxiliary pump to maintain water pressure during sleep mode, monitoring and protecting against cavitation, and controlling linear pressure.

Sulzer’s approach to digital integration and control starts with a condition monitor, called Sense, that measures a pump’s temperature and vibration in three axes, gathering data that can be viewed on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The monitor is said to be suitable for all pumps, agitators, mixers, and motors, regardless of the type or brand.

Data is only as good as the way it’s evaluated and used, so Sulzer offers what it calls Blue Box software that crunches the data for predictive maintenance and “insights into anomalous behavior” of pumps. Equipped with this information, users can take preemptive action before a failure occurs or take corrective action after.

Blue Box works by transferring information from the data collection system to Sulzer’s secure Cloud location, which is hosted by Microsoft Azure, and then presenting the data to the user with “analytical insights” highlighted.

Some digital platforms are designed for particular industries. Among them is the Synertrex platform from Weir, a set of digital tools intended to complement Weir’s existing portfolio of mining equipment. Machines that can be monitored with Synertrex include not only pumps but also hydrocyclones, screens, crushers, and high-pressure grinding rolls.

Synertrex is designed to work in close cooperation with its manufacturer. Representatives from Weir travel to the customer’s site to install the sensors, connect them to the Cloud, and train the customer’s staff to use the platform. Weir’s technicians can then analyze the data from afar, providing “unique insights on performance that only the OEM can deliver.” An extensive service network can offer quick response and on-site support for customers.

It’s close cooperation like this, with manufacturers working closely with pump users to implement increasingly sophisticated monitoring and control systems, that appears likely to lift pump application to the next level of sophistication. EA

Feature | Electric Avenue The trans-Pacific EV competition is heating up

Three Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles recently reported a surge in product deliveries, but will the surge be felt outside of China?

By Kevin Jones, EA Senior Editor

A triumvirate of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers made a splash this past November when they reported October delivery figures that surprised analysts to the upside and caused some to wonder if the balance of power in the electric vehicle market is shifting from this side of the Pacific to the other.

The three up-and-coming Chinese EV manufacturers that caught the industry’s attention with stellar reports were Li Auto, Nio, and Xpeng, all of which reported October deliveries that were at least twice what the companies had reported for the same period the year before.

Nio, headquartered in Shanghai, reported that it had delivered 5,055 vehicles in October, an increase of 100.1% year-over-year. Xpeng delivered a total of 3,040 Smart EVs during the same month, a 229% increase. And Li Auto delivered 3,692 Li ONEs, representing what the company called “a steady increase” over September deliveries, although year-over-year monthly comparisons were unavailable.

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In spite of these impressive numbers, the undisputed king of the electric vehicle market in the U.S. is still Tesla, followed by Chevy, Nissan, Audi, and Porsche. Tesla sold an estimated 71,000 electric vehicles in the U.S. during 2020, for an average of 5,916 per month, according to EV news website CleanTechnica. And that was just the domestic market.

For U.S. 2020 EV sales, the Chevy Bolt ran a distant second behind Tesla, coming in at 8,370 sold. The Nissan LEAF and Audi e-tron each sold around 3,000, while about 1,000 Porsche Taycan’s were driven away by new owners.

Differing rates of sales increases

When comparing U.S. and Chinese EV manufacturers, things become more interesting when you look at rates of delivery increases or decreases. As noted, the three Chinese players that caught the industry’s attention during the fall have seen rapid acceleration in product deliveries. In the U.S., meanwhile, the top EV manufacturers have seen sales plateau or even decline.

Writing in Forbes magazine, business and technology reporter Niall McCarthy reported that sales figures for Tesla’s top-selling model, the Model 3, at 38,314 for the first half of 2020, were “considerably lower compared to the first half of 2019, when they were in the region of 69,000.” Many Tesla buyers appear to be opting instead for the less expensive Model Y, a compact crossover. Meanwhile, “the Nissan LEAF

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saw its sales pretty much halved, just two units off a precise 50% drop,” McCarthy wrote.

The take of another Forbes reporter, Trefis Team, was that “the Chinese electrical space is booming, with China-based manufacturers accounting for over 50% of global EV deliveries.” [Note the reference to China-based manufacturers, an important distinction we’ll get to in a moment.] Much of this growth appears to be driven by the Chinese government’s demand that about 25% of all new cars sold in China be electric by 2025, a significant increase over today’s proportion of about 5%.

The stock of all three of the surging Chinese EV manufacturers trades in U.S. equity markets, and if their price and volume action immediately following the release of the November performance reports is any indication, then the surge in deliveries of Chinese EVs caught investors by surprise.

On Dec. 2, all three reported sales figures for November that were as impressive as October’s. Li Auto reported November deliveries that were up 25.8% over October’s, while Nio and Xpeng reported deliveries that were up 109% and 342%, respectively, over November 2019, according to Investor’s Business Daily. That day saw Nio’s stock rise 5.78% and Xpeng’s 6.95%, although Li Auto’s stock was down marginally.

Following these releases, investment bank Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock of all three companies and predicted that electric vehicle penetration in China would reach 20% by 2025, somewhat shy of the 25% the Chinese government is aiming for but still well above today’s 5%.

Western manufacturers in China

But if the manufacture of electric vehicles in China is booming and on a rapid upward trajectory, an increasing number of those autos are being built by western manufacturers, and the flow of western-made EVs to China appears likely to continue exceeding the flow of homegrown Chinese EVs to the West for the foreseeable future.

Western EV makers with significant manufacturing operations in China include Tesla and BMW, the latter operating its largest production base worldwide at plants in northeastern China, according to Nikkei Asia. Beginning this year, BMW plans to export its China-produced iX3 electric SUV to Europe. Tesla began shipping units of its Model 3S from a factory in Shanghai to Europe in October.

In the short term, homegrown Chinese electric vehicles appear unlikely to find much of an export market in the West, particularly in the U.S. The domestic sales of electric vehicles in China rely heavily on government subsidies, which cover about a third of an EV’s sticker price there. This gives Chinese manufacturers a powerful incentive to design their autos for the domestic market, where cars that are “small, cheap, and slow” are preferred, according to Barron’s.

“We call them low-speed EVs, where the maximum speed of the vehicle is no greater than 50 mph,” the magazine quoted Ji Shi, director of automobile equity research at Haitong International Securities, as saying. “My concern is, I’m not sure the United States has the same demand.” EA