Today, China is a global leader in electric vehicles, in terms of manufacturing, market share and technology. The electric vehicle market in China is very vast. Many companies manufacture electric vehicles in China. According to “Comparison of Common Urban Travel Modes in China”, Two-wheeled electric vehicles’ annual sales grew from 56,000 in 1998 to 21 million in 2008. More than half of all the electric cars sold in the world are made in China.
National Development and Reform Commission formulated the Auto Industry Development Policy in 2004, and after that 16 Chinese state-owned companies formed CEVA in Beijing. Its job is to develop a mechanism to share information among them to develop top e-vehicles keeping in view the market requirement.
In 2008, Chinese automakers provided 500 developed new energy and fuel efficiency vehicles for the Beijing Olympics.
In 2009, the Chinese state government approved US$ 1.5 billion for new e-vehicle industrialization and US$ 3 billion for technical development.
In 2018, China is the largest and fastest-growing electric vehicle market in the world. Chinese companies sold 1.2 million plug-in electric vehicles. China is the no. 1 in electric vehicle manufacturing in the world.
Government Support
The Chinese government continues to provide its support to electric vehicle manufacturers through making favorable policies, subsidies and creating infrastructure, and for electric vehicle buyers government provides facilities like building charging infrastructure, tax rebates, etc. China is the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries which are used in electric vehicles. China dominates the world electric vehicle market by robust supply chain and battery production. China’s electric car market is also very vast.
Advanced Technology
China is a hub for electric vehicle innovation and technology. Chinese Government gives support for research and development so that Chinese companies can compete in the competitive international market. Chinese companies are investing huge amounts in R&D. In 2011, there were many electric vehicle manufacturing companies in China and they had significant investments in research and development. These companies are BYD, SAIC, Chery, GAC, FAW and many more, and R&D institutes are Beijing Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University and Tongji University
The government encourages joint ventures and partnerships between domestic and international companies to increase knowledge, technology and resources such as battery innovation, driving range, autonomous driving and low cost.
Electric Cars Sales in China Compared to the World
Electric Vehicle Companies in China
The main reason for the growth of EV production in China is its economic growth, government policies, vast domestic market and international demand due to which E.V. companies are producing large quantities of electric vehicles at low cost.
Some of the leading EV manufacturers in China are –
Geely Auto Group: Geely Auto is a leading vehicle manufacturing company in China. The company was founded in 1997. The company made its place in Fortune 500 list in 2022 and it ranked 229 in the world. Geely was appointed in IATF in 2021. IATF is a group of vehicle manufacturers and its related industry. IATF’s aim is to provide quality vehicles to customers in the worldwide. In 2020, Geely Auto was the first Chinese company which sells 10 million vehicles in worldwide. The company has many R&D centers in the world for testing of vehicles and their parts such as Hangzhou, China, Ningbo, China, Gothenburg, Sweden and Coventry, UK. The company’s factory is fully automated and connected with 5G. Geely’s Black Light Factory does not require any manual operation. The company runs smoothly without any interruption. The Geely factory produces 30 vehicles in 1 hour which means 1 car is produced every 2 minutes. The company factories’ locations are all over China such as Hangzhou, Ningbo, Taizhou and Chengdu, China. They announced the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
Some popular models of Geely Auto Group are Polestar 2, Polestar 3, Geometry A, Geometry C, Geometry E, Zeekr 001, Zeekr009 and Zeekr X.
BYD: BYD’s full form is Build Your Dreams. It was founded in 2003 and its headquarters is in Shenzhen, China. BYD Auto Company Limited is a subsidiary of BYD Company. It is a publicly listed company. The company is the largest manufacturer and well-known of electric vehicles not only in China but also in the world. The company has a wide range of electric vehicles such as passenger cars, buses, trucks and many more. BYD is also manufacturing batteries and supplies them not only in China but also to international companies. BYD is exporting its vehicles to other countries.
Some of the very popular models of BYD are – BYD Dolphin, BYD Qin, BYD Tang, BYD Song, BYD Han, BYD Seal and BYD Atto.
Li Auto: Li Auto was founded by Mr. LI Xiang in 2015. Its headquarters is in Beijing and the plant is in Changzhou, China. Li Auto unveiled its first model Li ONE in 2019. The company does not focus only on electric vehicles and also it does not produce fully electric vehicles. Li Auto models have been well received in the electric car market. Li models are luxury vehicles because the vehicles are well equipped with premium features.
Some models are Li ONE, Li L6, Li L7, Li L8, Li L9 and Li MEGA.
NIO: Founded in 2014, the Company gained attention for its battery swapping or switching technology and the company provides a battery-related service, known as BaaS (Battery as a Service). The customer is exchanging a discharge battery pack for a fully charged battery pack. It is a leading electric vehicle manufacturer in China. NIO is one of the newest and fastest-growing electric vehicle companies in China. NIO is exporting its vehicles to other countries too.
The first model of the company was NIO EP9 and it was a sports car. It’s others models are EC6, EC7, EL6, EL7, EL8, ET5, ET7 and ET9. NIO has manufactured 500,000 high-end electric vehicles in China.
SAIC Motor Corporation Limited: SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, earlier known as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, is Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer. The company was founded in 1955 and has headquarters in Shanghai, China. SAIC sells its vehicles worldwide. The company made a joint venture with Volkswagen (SAIC-Volkswagen) in 1984 and SAIC made another joint venture with GM (SAIC-GM) in 1998. SAIC made its place in the Fortune 500 list in 2023 and it ranked 84. In 2010 the company produced 3.58 million vehicles, which was the largest production in China that year. The company did so again in the next year 2011, by producing 3.97 million vehicles and this was again, the largest production in China that year. The company produces electric vehicles along with internal combustion engine vehicles.
Some very popular models are IM L7, IM LS6 and IM LS7. SAIC Motor participated in the 18th Beijing International Auto Show with 97 new cars and more than 10 debut models and the theme was “Delivering Extraordinary Mobility Solutions with Green and Sustainable Technology”.
GAC Aion: GAC is based in Zhujiang, China. The company is listed on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. This company is Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer. GAC does business in many sectors such as energy & ecology, research & development, vehicle parts, transportation, finance and investment. The company focuses on technology-based business. The company wants to build a world-class company and win customers’ trust. GAC made its place in the Fortune 500 list in 2023 and it ranked 165. GAC is the top five largest manufacturers of vehicles in China. The company produces electric models under the GAC Aion.
The company introduced its first electric vehicle in 2019. It was an Aion S and the body type was a sedan. Some popular models of Aion series are Aion Lx, Aion S, Aion V, Aion Y, Aion Hyper SSR and Aion Hyper GT.
CONCLUSION
At present, no one can beat China in the coming two or three decades, the main reasons for this are government support, innovation and technology, low cost, vast domestic demand and international demand. China’s electric vehicles market share is more than 50% in the world.