China’s EV makers pour billions of dollars into research, output and marketing to catch up with Tesla on their home turf

Long driving range on a single charge is essential in a nation with the world’s third-biggest land mass, as are sophisticated electronic gadgetry, unique applications, bells and whistles, according to the range of models on display at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, the nation’s most important industry trade show.

All these have to come with a price tag that fits comfortably in the pocket of notoriously finnicky buyers with little loyalty to brands that are usually little more than a few years old.

“We know the Chinese market better and we are relatively younger,” said Brian Gu, president of Xpeng Motors, which completed a US$1.7 billion fundraising in New York last month to finance its ambitions. “We are increasing our spending on R&D and will churn out better products to position ourselves as a technology-driven NEV maker.”

Optimistic analysts forecast the number could reach 5 million a year, buoyed by the Chinese government’s generous incentives to encourage consumers to abandon internal combustion engines and replace them with environmentally friendly vehicles, part of the nation’s state goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060.