Electric cars to drive demand for ABB products

Swiss power and automation group ABB, which posted record high sales in China last year due to favorable government policies, expects electric cars to help drive demand for its products.

Sales in China rose to US$5.6 billion in 2013, from just over US$5.2 billion in 2012, ABB said in Beijing yesterday. New orders also rose to a record high of US$5.6 billion in China last year.

Chunyuan Gu, ABB's China chairman and president, attributed the results to China's government policies, which encourage energy saving, pollution control, and industrial technology upgrade.

Meanwhile ABB is also developing wall-mounted electric-car chargers with Shenzhen-based BYD Daimler New Technology Co to address a lack of charging infrastructure in the country. BYD Daimler, a joint venture between Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD and German premier carmaker Daimler AG, focuses on developing new energy vehicles.

Gu is confident China's electric car market will boom despite a slow start. "Although I can't predict the exact time, but once on track, the electric car market in China is going to be huge," he said.