China, sales of electric cars in Europe increase

The latest arrival is called Voyah. The electric car brandcontrolled by Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng, has recently opened a showroom in Oslo. From the capital of the Norway have already passed Nio and Xpeng, two other automakers specializing in electric vehicles. The Nordic country, at the forefront of farewell to combustion engines (registrations of electric and hybrid vehicles reached 84% in April), is one of the first markets to which new Chinese car manufacturers to land in Europe. The Dragon, on the other hand, has targeted the Old Continent and has the numbers to establish itself.“Chinese companies are already selling to Europe. So it is up to all companies on the European market to take up the challenge of providing electric vehicles that are adapted to the needs of consumers“, Observes Philippe Vangeel, general secretary of Averethe European association for electric mobility, of which Nio and Xpeng are already members.

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Europe in the crosshairs

At the end of May the Mercator institute for China studies (Merics), a German center for dragon studies, has calculated that Europe has become the first market in which Chinese companies export electric cars. In 2021, 40% of the 555,041 vehicles sold abroad ended up on European roads. We are not just talking about Chinese cars tout court. But also of models designed by European car manufacturers, which then produce them beyond the Great Wall. This is the case with Renault’s Dacia Spring or Daimler’s electric Mini and Smart. The world production of these four wheels is located in China. Behind Volvo is there Geely, a multinational company from Hangzhou who bought it in 2010. And that under its umbrella has a wide range of electric car brands, such as Polestar or Lynk, born in Swedeninitially intended for the Chinese market only and now also launched for sales in Europe.

According to Schimdt Automotive, a specialized research center, in 2021 15% of the 1.2 million electric cars sold in Europe western era made in China. Starting with Tesla, which had not yet opened its factory on the outskirts of Berlin. According to Merics, the trend is destined to grow, on the basis of the fact that “more and more enterprises will announce export plans and Beijing will reduce purchase subsidies, a move that will slow down domestic demand“.

On the contrary, experts say, Europe is of interest to China “for his low trade barriers, a well-developed charging network and high subsidies for the purchase of electric cars, also valid for imports“. At the same time, observes Vangeel, “the Chinese government is very supportive of electric car manufacturers“(Dongfeng, for example, is a state-owned company), which”they are collaborating with European brands to have European names“to capitalize on the market presence of these brands, and “they are investing in lower-end and cheaper models”, To break down the economic barriers that still make e-cars a prohibitive object for many wallets. BYD, which overtook Tesla in sales in the first half of 2022, has launched a model that costs 10,000 euros.

A Chinese company overtook Tesla in electric car sales

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Road cleared

The result, Merics declares, is that “the European Union is becoming a net consumer of vehicles made in China”. Vangeel expects accelerated in 2023-24: “I expect announcements of new models on a daily basis“. On the other hand, the European Union has given itself the commitment to block the registrations of new cars with thermal engines from 2035, a further push to migrate to electric. Data from the Association of Chinese Auto Manufacturers shows that exports of electric vehicles from China quadrupled between 2020 and 2021 and e-cars reached a share of 20.7% of total exports in the first half of the year. year.