China accelerates its dominance in electric vehicle manufacturing

The manufacturers chinese of electric vehicles They are driving the global boom in a sector in which international companies are lagging behind, according to analysts and industry experts interviewed by AFP.

Government support for electric vehicles coupled with growing consumer interest has allowed Chinese companies to dominate the internal market, the world’s largest auto market.

The Shanghai Auto Show, which is held every two years and ends on April 27, proved that Chinese brands could “Rival all the traditional car builders on every level, performance, quality, comfort, there is nothing they can’t do”emphasizes Elliot Richards, electric car specialist.

“The show marks the end of the internal combustion engine and the beginning of the era of electric vehicles,” insisted.

Electric car companies are well aware that they are starting to catch up with their fossil fuel predecessors.. “We consider high-end fuel vehicles as our main competitors”told AFP William Li, director general of childthe “Chinese Teslas”.

Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles doubled in 2022 and account for more than a quarter of vehicles sold, an unprecedented level, according to the China Federation of Individual Car Manufacturers (CPCA).

Despite the global slowdown in the auto sector, electric vehicles will account for more than 40% of the market share in China this year, Li estimates.

Dozens of new models, from new and older manufacturers, were on display at the Shanghai auto show.

“The future is here, now” Mike Johnstone, a senior manager at the British luxury brand Lotus, told AFP.

Chinese brands as a model

China has spent large amounts to boost this industry. “They gave up developing fuel engines” because they couldn’t compete with the rest of the world, analyzes Richards.

“TOthey did think: ‘With electric vehicles, we can get ahead of the rest’”, added.

Beginning in the 2000s, central and local authorities pumped billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks, and awarded public transportation contracts to electric vehicle companies.

“It is at the origin of the country’s economic system. The Chinese government knows how to concentrate resources on the industries it seeks to develop”writes Zeyi Yang in MIT Technology Review.

China it also developed the necessary infrastructure to boost the sector. According to the government, there are more than 5.8 million charging stations in the country.

In Guangdong province, there are about three times as many charging terminals as in the entire United States, according to Bloomberg data.

The Chinese market has more than 94 brands, which in turn offer more than 300 different models. A development that foreign competitors are watching closely, forced to reinvent themselves in a highly competitive environment.

The brands present in the Chinese market “serve as a model” for the others, says Johnstone of Lotus.

Adapt to other markets

Chinese brands are also targeting foreign markets, as is the case with BYD, one of the country’s top sellers. The company sells its vehicles in some 50 countries, including Europe, which has become a priority.

The Shenzhen group, in southern China, has set itself the goal of exporting 300,000 vehicles worldwide this year. Last year it exported 50,000, according to public television CCTV.

The Zeekr brand, which belongs to the local automobile giant Geely, announced for its part that it would sell its first models in Sweden and the Netherlands by the end of the year. Then it will reach other countries.

Spiros Fotinos, CEO of Zeekr for Europe, explains that views on the quality of Chinese production are changing.

“Consumers see a lot of innovative safety technology, with driver assistance systems that are really state of the art”he told AFP.

But the game is not yet won, he warns Elliott Richardswho points out that Chinese automakers will have to adapt to the western market, which is very different from their own.

The ambition, however, remains. The Asian giant, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, intends that by 2035 car sales will be mainly non-polluting vehicles.

Source: AFP