China Goes All-In on Electric Cars

China Goes All-In on Electric Cars

When China’s leaders decided to go all-in on electric cars, they knew they had a massive challenge ahead.china electric cars They also knew the potential payoff was huge – not only to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions but to give their country another lucrative export industry.

They’re already well on their way to achieving those goals.china electric cars EV sales are growing fast, and China holds the world’s largest stock of plug-in passenger vehicles. And thanks to the Chinese government’s ability to focus resources on an industry, it has built up a dominant position in the global EV supply chain, from batteries to components and even whole cars.

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, for example, is an affordable electric car that’s wildly popular in small Chinese cities and towns.china electric cars It costs less than $5,000, which means that it’s accessible to a class of buyers who never could afford a private car before. And that’s a big part of the point: a successful electric car revolution will produce massive health, environmental, and economic benefits – including a reduced dependence on foreign oil – and it will do so by creating another long-lasting export industry for China.

As for battery technology barriers, they’re fading quickly.china electric cars A recent study found that the price of lithium-ion batteries, which are critical for EVs, is falling so rapidly that manufacturers should be able to pass along the savings in vehicle prices, making EVs more affordable than gas cars.

And the cost of EVs is expected to keep coming down. A few years ago, the average EV in America cost about $35,000; now they can be bought for as little as $17,000. And that’s one of the biggest reasons why they are becoming so popular.

It’s also important to remember that those who rail against EV subsidies might just as easily inveigh against public funding for airports, or interstate highways, even though those investments are meant to increase the number of people who can fly or drive far distances. And it’s not as if incentives are a waste of money, either: In fact, studies show that they provide substantial public benefits.

What’s more, despite the rise of China, a number of U.S. lawmakers – across the political spectrum – are starting to speak out against the country’s efforts to block EV sales. One Wisconsin congressman, Mike Gallagher, recently told NPR that “Companies from Detroit to Green Bay in the Midwest are feeling the impact of this Chinese coercion and market manipulation,” and he’s leading a bipartisan effort to impose new tariffs and investigate ways to block China’s EV exports. This is a fight we’ll need to win, because EVs are the best hope for cutting climate impacts and giving us a cleaner, healthier future. And we can’t do it without the support of a strong and vibrant global economy.

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