China’s carmakers are beating internet start-ups in the battle for supremacy in the world’s largest electric vehicle market
- Conventional carmakers have grabbed a bigger market share, China Passenger Car Association data shows
- Established carmakers ‘have not been eclipsed by Tesla and the Tesla challengers yet’
Beijing’s encouragement has fired up China’s new energy vehicle sector, pitting start-up electric vehicle (EV) makers against its more established conventional carmakers.
“Conventional carmakers still have an upper hand over the upstart EV makers in terms of production capabilities and sales networks,” said Peter Chen, an engineer with car components company TRW. “They have not been eclipsed by Tesla and the Tesla challengers yet.”
China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) segment, which covers pure electric, hybrid and fuel cell-powered cars, was the lone bright spot worldwide in the second half of this year, as lockdowns forced factories in the West to shut because of the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing’s cash subsidies and tax exemptions also played their part.