According to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China produced and sold 2,243,500 and 2,295,300 units of commercial vehicles in the first half of 2010, up 42 and 41 percent respectively from the same period of 2009. Sales increased 59 percent in the first quarter, and rose 37 percent in the second quarter.

The suppliers getting most of the attention in discussions about new energy cars are those making the batteries, electric motors and control systems, but traditional suppliers are investing in research that will be necessary.

The aftermarket in China is fragmented and small, but it is growing. Delphi estimates that there are 600,000 warehouses and distributors in China, and there are hundreds of models of cars on the road.

"This is the most complex time in the history of the world automobile industry that requires more important than ever strategic analysis of market dynamics and government action." - Michael Hanley, Global Auto Industry Leader, Ernst &

China has been working toward electric vehicles officially for four five-year planning periods, and for the past year headlines have proclaimed that China may be able to leapfrog western companies in the field of EVs, plug-in hybrids and fuel cells.

To meet China's goal of a 50 percent improvement in fuel economy by 2020, PSA Peugeot-Citroën has its engineers in Shanghai adapting PSA's full hybrid system to work with gasoline engines.

Some joint ventures in China have worked, and some have failed. Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL), China's largest JV between Dongfeng Group and Nissan Motor Co., didn't work at first, but it fixed itself, and now it is aiming at sales this year of 1 million units of Nissan passenger cars and Dongfeng commercial vehicles.

History is on the side of China's local brands, says An Jin, president of Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp.

  Dongfeng Motor Corp. launched its first car under its own brand last year, the Fengshen (Aeolus) S30 sedan, and this year added the H30 hatchback. With 2009 sales of 22,000 units and ambitions for 60,000 this year, Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Co. is starting small, but it has some specific ideas for its future.

Standardization at the most international level possible is the key to a widespread electric vehicle industry.