Battery quality afflicts China's electric car buyers

(ECNS) - Nearly 70 percent of respondents in a survey said they regretted buying an electric car, mainly due to problems with battery quality, according to Shanghai-based news website Jiemian.com.

The key compliant focused on hyped statements by manufactures on the distance their electric cars can travel on each charge. Over 57 percent of electric car owners said they clearly noticed a decline in battery life.

Drivers for Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing in Baoding City, Hebei Province complained that Great Wall Motor's pure electric sedan C30EV was not up to standard in winter. The C30EV was said to have a range of 270 kilometers, but drivers said the car could only travel 120 kilometers, only 44 percent of the official claim.

Other electric cars such as Jiangling Motor's first EV, the JMC E100, and South East Motor's DX3 EV reportedly have similar problems.

Data also showed 42.8 percent of electric car owners reported failures in the battery, motor or electric control system.

According to China Automobile Association, production and sales of new energy vehicles in February reached 59,200 and 52,900, an increase of 50.9 percent and 53.6 percent respectively. Some 1.256 million new energy vehicles were sold in China during 2018, half of the world total for the year. This year, 1.6 million new energy cars are expected to be sold in the country.