China: the challenge on electric cars is winning

While in Europe and Italy there is controversy over the decision to say goodbye to diesel and petrol engines from the 2035the China is building an empire in the industry electric cars. Overseas shipments of Chinese-made passenger cars tripled between 2020 and 2022, and last year reached more than 2.5 million last year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. First historic overtaking (about 60,000 units) at Germany. The numbers of China, behind the Japan but in front of United States And South Korea, herald the emergence of a formidable rival to the already established auto giants. And on electric cars it could become a domainheralding a turning point with a highly symbolic content, given how much the car has been an icon of theAmerican dream and US-led development in the second half of the last century.

The leadership of Tesla it has already been eroded, starting with Chinese territory. Perhaps not by chance Elon Musk froze plans to expand a second factory in China in addition to the one already operational in Shanghai, perhaps with an eye towards Indonesia. It is not a question of a lack of market in general, but of ever stronger competition. China has produced 6.88 million new energy vehicles in 2022, an increase of 93.4% over the previous year. Electric vehicles accounted for 25.6% of total automobile sales in China last year, with more than 5.36 million units of battery electric vehicles and 1.52 million units of electric vehicles plug-in hybrids. The government has also announced a major program on the electrification of public vehicles. Among the objectives from here to 2025: EV usage rate in public sector vehicles increased to 80%, increase in charging facilitiesgenerating more than 800 billion yuan ($118 billion) in market value for China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) industry.

China boosts electric car sales in Europe

Among the electric vehicles of national brands and the vehicles produced in Asia by the giants of the old continent, the Dragon is consolidating its leadership in the mobility of the future. With risks on the industrial strength of the European automotive sector

Tesla on the corner for the emergence of the Chinese giants

In January, Tesla’s price cuts boosted deliveries of its domestic-made vehicles China by 18% compared to December. But Musk’s creature has lagged behind competitors in China in the introduction of new models, in improving navigation systems and adding luxurious interiors. Ultimately, in customer service. Simply, Chinese brands are starting to produce electric cars that can not only compete with but also surpass those of Tesla. Not forgetting the patriotic feeling who often guides the Chinese to purchases.

It’s in the front row Byd, which already surpasses Tesla in global sales volume and has a market value of more than $100 billion, offers more than 60 different versions of electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Byd, which is headquartered in the metropolis of Shenzhen (just outside Hong Kong), started out by manufacturing cell phone batteries. jumped on the automotive, has chosen not to try to recover the unbridgeable gap with international competitors on traditional engines. But he immediately started investing huge sums in research and development useful for the production of electric cars.

China aims at Europe with its electric cars

Not only Byd: Nio and Geely on the launch pad

In addition to operating on internal market (the largest in the world), BYD has also successfully launched on international scene. Not yet in the United States, given the obstacle of geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing. But most of all Middle East and Latin America are already highly developed target markets for BYD, which has recently started to also expand into Australia. The company continues to put large sums on the plate. In early February, news leaked of a $1.2 billion investment plan to build a new factory for its batteries in China.

The landscape of Chinese electric car manufacturers and NEVs goes beyond BYD. It grows strong too Niowhich quickly went from offering two models up to six and plans to launch another five during 2023. Geely for example, it announced in recent days that it had raised 750 million dollars in a new round of financing which increases its value to 13 billion dollars. At Geely’s disposal is also the largest production of lithium ion batteries in the world. This is another of China’s strategic advantages in the NEV race. In fact, Beijing dominates the market for Rare lands, as well as the extraction of strategic mineral resources for the sector around the world. From cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the lithium in Chile or the nickel in Indonesia. Delays and doubts at other latitudes can only increase China’s advantage, ready to step on the accelerator.