From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: China’s domestic electric car market is accelerating ahead of the global competition. This year, about a quarter of all new cars purchased in the country will be an all-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid. More electric cars will be sold in China than in the rest of the world combined.
By some estimates, more than 300 Chinese companies are making E.V.s, including offerings below $5,000 and high-end models that rival Tesla and German automakers. There are roughly four million charging units in the country, double the number from a year ago. Half of the world’s top-10 E.V. brands are Chinese.
And while other E.V. markets are still heavily dependent on subsidies, China has entered a new phase: Consumers are weighing the merits of electric vehicles based on features and price without much consideration of state support.
Background: China’s leader, Xi Jinping, declared in 2014 that development of electric vehicles was the only way that his country could transform into “an automobile power.” The country’s electric vehicle market now stands on its own because of more than a decade of subsidies, long-term investments and infrastructure spending.
Context: The demand for electric cars is a bright spot in a sluggish Chinese economy, which is coping with a property market in crisis and crippling Covid-19 policies.
