Chinese Electric Cars 2022

Chinese Electric Cars 2022

China’s electric carmakers are threatening to take over the world.chinese electric cars 2022 The Shanghai auto show this spring was packed with Chinese models whose performance, design and technologies rival those of cars from Germany and Japan. Many competitors worry that cheap Chinese EVs will eventually overtake them in global sales.

That may happen, but it’s not necessarily inevitable.chinese electric cars 2022 To succeed globally, Chinese makers will have to overcome significant barriers that have long hampered foreign manufacturers.

One of the biggest obstacles is simply that foreign companies have more experience building vehicles, which helps them to reduce production costs and get their products to market faster.chinese electric cars 2022 Another is that foreign manufacturers are used to working with global suppliers—and their supply chains are more diversified.

Fortunately, Chinese companies are well equipped to tackle those challenges. They also have a huge domestic market to draw on, where government policies have helped bolster the EV industry. In the early days of EVs, the Chinese government poured over 200 billion RMB ($29 billion) into relevant subsidies and tax breaks. This helped them keep their head above water during the startup phase, which lasted from 2009 to 2022.

In addition, the government has made it easy for consumers to purchase EVs. For example, in most cities it is possible to buy an EV without waiting years or paying thousands of dollars for a license plate that is often rationed in popular urban areas. This has been particularly important for the smallest Chinese EV brands, some of which have never sold more than a few thousand units per year.

Examples include the tiny Wuling EV, which has essentially created its own class of vehicle (4 seats in a car that is only a tad larger than a Smart Fortwo EV). SAIC-GM-Wuling’s little EV also benefits from the company’s partnership with Leapmotor.

Other examples include GAC Aion and Li Auto, which grew from established gas-car companies to EV specialists in less than a decade. Both have soared to the top of the EV sales chart in China, though their numbers are artificially boosted by selling large numbers of cars to car businesses such as rental and ride-hailing companies and local governments.

Finally, there’s NIO, a startup that has grown into a household name through its impressive range of EVs. Its most recent offerings are the EC7 and ES8, which target families looking for a more versatile EV. The ES8 in particular is designed to capitalize on the camping craze that’s currently sweeping China, with features such as light-sensitive paint that transitions from black to red to orange through the day and an interior that can be converted into sleeping space for three people.