To promote the development of electric vehicle technologies in China

a comparative analysis on the development of electric vehicle technologies in China and USA is made based on all published electric-vehicle-related patent data. The number of new patents

the main patentee and the technical field are indicated to analyze the technology development process

research hot spots

and innovation subject from the view of both industry and technologies. The cases of typical enterprises are also checked

and the findings show that though starting to develop electric vehicle technologies is late

China has paid more attention to developing electric vehicle technologies than USA since 2001

and is catching up fast. The battery and its synergistic control with internal combustion engine are the core technologies. There is a clear gap between China and USA in terms of joint control of vehicle subsystems and digital data processing. Our government should keep supporting the development of electric vehicle

and enterprises should seize the opportunities for both promoting production and sales

and enhancing their technical capabilities.