China at the forefront of new energy vehicle manufacturing

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

People’s Daily reports that Chinese-made NEVs stand out on the market in terms of safety, smartness and comfort; they implement features such as facial recognition for door unlocking, automatic warning systems and driver assistant systems.

A couple of years ago, Chinese NEVs exported mainly to Latin America and Africa, however, now the country is also becoming an important exporter for Europe. Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), noted that 10 Chinese NEV manufacturers are exporting their products to Europe, and Chinese electric vehicles now account for 10 percent of those sold in European countries.

Vehicles are assembled at the JAC-NIO Advanced Manufacturing Center in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, Aug. 28, 2022. (Photo by Xie Chen/People’s Daily Online)

This is because China’s manufacture of NEVs has placed the country at the forefront of the global shift towards environmentally friendly vehicles. In the last seven years, China remained a top producer and seller of NEVs and it has been achieving its personal best each year. So much so that in 2021, over a half of the total global sales of NEVs came from China. A report released by the CAAM points to the growth of the Chinese automobile industry, with almost 4.57 million NEVs sold in China in the first three quarters this year, surging 110 percent year on year and exceeding the whole-year figure in 2021.

Xin Guobin, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, affirms that this growth has been largely thanks to the effort of the Chinese government, which has implemented hundreds of policies both national and local, to drive the shift towards a digitalized society through technological innovation, application, safety supervision and other areas. Moreover, power battery and connected vehicle innovation centers have been established throughout the country to provide support to companies in the industrial chain to increase their investment in R&D, fostering NEV development.

A worker checks the finish of a vehicle frame in a factory of Zeekr, an electric mobility technology and solutions brand under Chinese carmaker Geely in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang province, Feb. 7, 2022. (Photo by Zhang Yongtao/People’s Daily Online)

Experts estimate that the Chinese automobile industry is likely to continue steady growth despite the current energy and financial crisis. NIO, a Chinese automaker of EVs said that it would expand its operations to Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden in the coming years. The company entered Norway a year ago, and its EV model ES8 remained a top selling 6-seater and 7-seater SUV in the first nine months of this year.

Source: People's Daily