Low prices, resilience to metals shortage to power Chinese EV brands’ rapid growth in Europe: Fitch Solutions

One in six EVs sold in Europe by 2025 will be made by Chinese EV makers, up from around 3 per cent now, Fitch Solutions says

Chinese carmakers’ investments in battery metals mining shield them from the vagaries of supply shortages and price spikes

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Great Wall Motor said it would sell 10 EV models in Europe by 2025, including the Ora Cat. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00pm, 4 Nov 2022

Chinese electric vehicle makers are likely to account for up to 18 per cent of the market in Europe in the next three years, mainly because of competitive products and rivals’ inability to supply cars amid a shortage of key battery metals, according to Fitch Solutions.

One in six EVs sold in Europe by 2025 will be made by Chinese EV makers, up from around 3 per cent now, according to the financial research provider. Chinese companies sold only 37,000 units in the region in the first seven months of this year.

Chinese cars are affordable and at the same time Western carmakers are unable to provide sufficient supply of EVs, Phoebe O’Hara, an analyst at Fitch Solutions, told a webinar on Thursday.

“The extensive offerings and supplies of Chinese EVs mean that they can fill the gap in that market,” she added.

BYD said in April that it had stopped producing combustion vehicles and would only produce electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Photo: Xinhua

A comparison of global EV prices from 2015 to first half of this year by Fitch showed that only the prices of Chinese-made EVs have decreased significantly, while those of US and European EV models have surged.

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