China’s competitive car market at heart of global EV revolution
By AFP
March 28, 2024
Xiaomi is the latest Chinese firm to enter a highly competitive EV market
By AFP
March 28, 2024
Xiaomi is the latest Chinese firm to enter a highly competitive EV market
- Copyright AFP STR
China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, a battle royale featuring both established carmakers as well as upstarts such as Xiaomi, which launched its first EV on Thursday.
EV makers from China have made inroads into markets from Europe to Southeast Asia and Tesla’s Elon Musk described them in January as “the most competitive car companies in the world”.
How big is the Chinese EV market?
China’s market for EVs dwarfs the rest of the world.
Of all new EVs sold globally in December last year, 69 percent were in China, according to the research firm Rystad Energy.
And of its forecast of 17.5 million EV sales this year, Rystad expects China to account for 11.5 million, or 65 percent.
The explosive rise of these EV firms has also fuelled China’s challenge to traditional auto powerhouses — it overtook Japan as the world’s biggest car exporter last year.
Which Chinese EV company is the biggest?
Founded as a battery company, BYD — known as “Biyadi” in Chinese or by the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has become China’s undisputed EV champion and Tesla’s biggest challenger.
It said last year it had become the first company to produce five million all-electric and hybrid vehicles, crowning itself the world’s top maker of “new energy” vehicles.
And, in the last quarter of 2023, it surpassed Tesla as the world’s leading EV seller.
BYD also enjoys cost advantages because of its strong capabilities across the EV supply chain, especially power storage.
Many foreign auto giants, including Tesla and BMW, rely on BYD for batteries.
Who are the other players?
There are a staggering 129 EV brands in China, but just 20 have managed to achieve a domestic market share of one percent or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The data showed BYD at almost 33 percent, with Tesla in second place with more than eight percent.
In third place with 5.8 percent of the market is Wuling, which makes China’s best-selling EV to date — a tiny two-door car named Hongguang Mini.
The rest of the pack includes Volvo Cars-parent Geely and electric SUV maker Li Auto, as well as the relatively newer XPeng and NIO.
And the offerings for Chinese customers are just as varied — from buses and entry-level and mid-range city cars to luxury sedans and roadsters.
China’s tech giants also want a slice of the multi-billion-dollar EV pie.
Huawei, under heavy US sanctions over alleged links to Chinese security agencies, has in recent years developed EVs with production partners, with heavy use of its technology.
Search giant Baidu is also working on an EV project, with a focus on autonomous driving.
And Xiaomi, the world’s third-biggest smartphone maker, entered the fray on Thursday.
Is this sustainable?
The glut of models from companies that have spent heavily for years has led to what has been widely described as an EV price war, with firms including BYD and Tesla offering significant discounts.
Analysts have said the process of consolidation in China’s EV market will continue as some companies go out of business, look to merge with others or seek buyers for their technology and assets.
Further, while heavy state support promoted the industry’s growth for years, purchase subsidies have been phased out.
However, industry experts point to China’s industrial and manufacturing prowess, as well as the country’s dominance of key EV supply chains including minerals as factors that will aid its auto sector.
How have traditional auto powers reacted?
The stunning rise of China’s EV industry has sparked worries in Brussels and Washington, especially over the subsidies Chinese auto firms receive from the government.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen announced in September an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric cars, vowing to defend European industry from unfair competition.
And while Chinese EV makers have not made inroads into the United States, President Joe Biden’s administration has taken aim at auto parts from China.
Beijing filed a complaint this week at the World Trade Organization, arguing that new US auto policies discriminated against Chinese companies, state media reported.
Aside from car makers, China’s CATL dominates the global EV battery markets and supplies heavyweights including Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.
Musk warned of the challenge posed by Chinese automakers.
“Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world,” he said during a Tesla earnings call in January.
“They are extremely good.”
China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, a battle royale featuring both established carmakers as well as upstarts such as Xiaomi, which launched its first EV on Thursday.
EV makers from China have made inroads into markets from Europe to Southeast Asia and Tesla’s Elon Musk described them in January as “the most competitive car companies in the world”.
How big is the Chinese EV market?
China’s market for EVs dwarfs the rest of the world.
Of all new EVs sold globally in December last year, 69 percent were in China, according to the research firm Rystad Energy.
And of its forecast of 17.5 million EV sales this year, Rystad expects China to account for 11.5 million, or 65 percent.
The explosive rise of these EV firms has also fuelled China’s challenge to traditional auto powerhouses — it overtook Japan as the world’s biggest car exporter last year.
Which Chinese EV company is the biggest?
Founded as a battery company, BYD — known as “Biyadi” in Chinese or by the English slogan “Build Your Dreams” — has become China’s undisputed EV champion and Tesla’s biggest challenger.
It said last year it had become the first company to produce five million all-electric and hybrid vehicles, crowning itself the world’s top maker of “new energy” vehicles.
And, in the last quarter of 2023, it surpassed Tesla as the world’s leading EV seller.
BYD also enjoys cost advantages because of its strong capabilities across the EV supply chain, especially power storage.
Many foreign auto giants, including Tesla and BMW, rely on BYD for batteries.
Who are the other players?
There are a staggering 129 EV brands in China, but just 20 have managed to achieve a domestic market share of one percent or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The data showed BYD at almost 33 percent, with Tesla in second place with more than eight percent.
In third place with 5.8 percent of the market is Wuling, which makes China’s best-selling EV to date — a tiny two-door car named Hongguang Mini.
The rest of the pack includes Volvo Cars-parent Geely and electric SUV maker Li Auto, as well as the relatively newer XPeng and NIO.
And the offerings for Chinese customers are just as varied — from buses and entry-level and mid-range city cars to luxury sedans and roadsters.
China’s tech giants also want a slice of the multi-billion-dollar EV pie.
Huawei, under heavy US sanctions over alleged links to Chinese security agencies, has in recent years developed EVs with production partners, with heavy use of its technology.
Search giant Baidu is also working on an EV project, with a focus on autonomous driving.
And Xiaomi, the world’s third-biggest smartphone maker, entered the fray on Thursday.
Is this sustainable?
The glut of models from companies that have spent heavily for years has led to what has been widely described as an EV price war, with firms including BYD and Tesla offering significant discounts.
Analysts have said the process of consolidation in China’s EV market will continue as some companies go out of business, look to merge with others or seek buyers for their technology and assets.
Further, while heavy state support promoted the industry’s growth for years, purchase subsidies have been phased out.
However, industry experts point to China’s industrial and manufacturing prowess, as well as the country’s dominance of key EV supply chains including minerals as factors that will aid its auto sector.
How have traditional auto powers reacted?
The stunning rise of China’s EV industry has sparked worries in Brussels and Washington, especially over the subsidies Chinese auto firms receive from the government.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen announced in September an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric cars, vowing to defend European industry from unfair competition.
And while Chinese EV makers have not made inroads into the United States, President Joe Biden’s administration has taken aim at auto parts from China.
Beijing filed a complaint this week at the World Trade Organization, arguing that new US auto policies discriminated against Chinese companies, state media reported.
Aside from car makers, China’s CATL dominates the global EV battery markets and supplies heavyweights including Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.
Musk warned of the challenge posed by Chinese automakers.
“Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world,” he said during a Tesla earnings call in January.
“They are extremely good.”
China’s Xiaomi to enter cut-throat EV market for the first time
SMARTPHONE ON WHEELS
By AFP
By AFP
March 28, 2024
A Xiaomi SU7 electric car is displayed at a Xiaomi store in Beijing on March 26, 2024. - Copyright TT News Agency/AFP/File Hanna Brunlof WINDELL
Chinese consumer tech giant Xiaomi will launch its first-ever EV at a press conference in Beijing Thursday, injecting itself into a fiercely competitive sector in the world’s largest car market.
China’s EV sector has grown rapidly in recent years — propelled by purchasing subsidies that were discontinued in late 2022 — and dozens of domestic automakers are engaged in a stiff price war to get ahead in a crowded market.
Xiaomi is known around the world for affordable smartphones and sleek home appliances, and CEO Lei Jun says he is now putting his “reputation on the line” with the SU7 EV, and challenging Chinese car giant BYD and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Sleek, sporty, and available in blue bay, olive green or elegant grey, the SU7 even includes “sound simulation”, Lei says, “to recreate the thrill of driving a sports car”.
Lei has not divulged the price, but has promised it will be “the best-looking, best-driving and smartest car” costing under 500,000 yuan ($69,200).
Analysts have said they expect it to come in at half that price.
“If my guess is correct, the 200,000 to 250,000 yuan range, that actually is the most competitive segment in the China EV space at the moment,” Johnson Wan, an analyst at Jefferies Financial Group Inc, told Bloomberg.
China is now the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, but officials plan for domestic car sales to be made up mainly of electric and hybrid models by 2035.
The launch of the SU7 comes just days after BYD, the world’s top seller of EVs, posted record annual profits as it pushes a rapid expansion overseas into countries in Southeast Asia, as well as further afield in Latin America and Europe.
In a note attached to the earnings report, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu acknowledged the year had not been all smooth sailing.
“At the beginning of the year, the recovery of automobile consumption was relatively lagging behind, affected by the switch in promotional policies and market price fluctuations,” he wrote.
XPeng — one of BYD’s top competitors in China — last week reported a net loss of 10.4 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in 2023.
A Xiaomi SU7 electric car is displayed at a Xiaomi store in Beijing on March 26, 2024. - Copyright TT News Agency/AFP/File Hanna Brunlof WINDELL
Chinese consumer tech giant Xiaomi will launch its first-ever EV at a press conference in Beijing Thursday, injecting itself into a fiercely competitive sector in the world’s largest car market.
China’s EV sector has grown rapidly in recent years — propelled by purchasing subsidies that were discontinued in late 2022 — and dozens of domestic automakers are engaged in a stiff price war to get ahead in a crowded market.
Xiaomi is known around the world for affordable smartphones and sleek home appliances, and CEO Lei Jun says he is now putting his “reputation on the line” with the SU7 EV, and challenging Chinese car giant BYD and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Sleek, sporty, and available in blue bay, olive green or elegant grey, the SU7 even includes “sound simulation”, Lei says, “to recreate the thrill of driving a sports car”.
Lei has not divulged the price, but has promised it will be “the best-looking, best-driving and smartest car” costing under 500,000 yuan ($69,200).
Analysts have said they expect it to come in at half that price.
“If my guess is correct, the 200,000 to 250,000 yuan range, that actually is the most competitive segment in the China EV space at the moment,” Johnson Wan, an analyst at Jefferies Financial Group Inc, told Bloomberg.
China is now the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, but officials plan for domestic car sales to be made up mainly of electric and hybrid models by 2035.
The launch of the SU7 comes just days after BYD, the world’s top seller of EVs, posted record annual profits as it pushes a rapid expansion overseas into countries in Southeast Asia, as well as further afield in Latin America and Europe.
In a note attached to the earnings report, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu acknowledged the year had not been all smooth sailing.
“At the beginning of the year, the recovery of automobile consumption was relatively lagging behind, affected by the switch in promotional policies and market price fluctuations,” he wrote.
XPeng — one of BYD’s top competitors in China — last week reported a net loss of 10.4 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in 2023.
By AFP
March 27, 2024
South Korea's Hyundai is one of the world's biggest automakers
- Copyright AFP/File
Yasuyoshi CHIBA
Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026, with a huge chunk dedicated to boosting the development and production of electric vehicles.
Along with its affiliate Kia, Hyundai is the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, but the South Korean giant lags in the EV sector behind Elon Musk’s Tesla and Chinese firm BYD.
Hyundai is keen to break into the global EV top three, saying last year that it was aiming to boost electric car production to more than 3.6 million units by 2030.
With the 68 trillion won ($50.5 billion) investment announced Wednesday, Hyundai Motor Group said it wants to “secure future growth engines in an uncertain business environment through constant change and innovation”.
“The automotive sector, including future mobility projects, accounts for… 63 percent of the Group’s total investment,” it added.
Under the plan, Hyundai will create 80,000 jobs in South Korea and build three new EV factories, with the aim of increasing annual EV production in the country to 1.51 million units by 2030.
The group’s EV strategy also includes investments in infrastructure, software, battery technology and autonomous driving.
A Greenpeace report in November said Hyundai’s growing sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles had offset any climate gains from its transition to EVs.
It noted that Hyundai-Kia had posted SUV sales increases of more than 150 percent over the past decade.
SUVs emit approximately 12 percent more carbon dioxide than sedans, the environmental group said, urging Hyundai to reduce SUV sales.
When asked about the report, Hyundai said it was expanding its fleet of “fully electric SUV vehicles”, including Kia’s EV6 and EV9.
Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026, with a huge chunk dedicated to boosting the development and production of electric vehicles.
Along with its affiliate Kia, Hyundai is the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, but the South Korean giant lags in the EV sector behind Elon Musk’s Tesla and Chinese firm BYD.
Hyundai is keen to break into the global EV top three, saying last year that it was aiming to boost electric car production to more than 3.6 million units by 2030.
With the 68 trillion won ($50.5 billion) investment announced Wednesday, Hyundai Motor Group said it wants to “secure future growth engines in an uncertain business environment through constant change and innovation”.
“The automotive sector, including future mobility projects, accounts for… 63 percent of the Group’s total investment,” it added.
Under the plan, Hyundai will create 80,000 jobs in South Korea and build three new EV factories, with the aim of increasing annual EV production in the country to 1.51 million units by 2030.
The group’s EV strategy also includes investments in infrastructure, software, battery technology and autonomous driving.
A Greenpeace report in November said Hyundai’s growing sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles had offset any climate gains from its transition to EVs.
It noted that Hyundai-Kia had posted SUV sales increases of more than 150 percent over the past decade.
SUVs emit approximately 12 percent more carbon dioxide than sedans, the environmental group said, urging Hyundai to reduce SUV sales.
When asked about the report, Hyundai said it was expanding its fleet of “fully electric SUV vehicles”, including Kia’s EV6 and EV9.
