The shock usually comes as soon as they leave the airport. It's here, in the cab that takes them to downtown Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, that foreign visitors discover these new cars. Their names are totally unknown: Voyah, Aion, Zeekr, Nio; their logos and designs have never been seen before, like a new automotive planet.
Yet this different world has become the main center of the global electric car market: According to the China Passenger Car Association, the Chinese market now accounts for 70% of global sales of new-energy vehicles – electrics and hybrids –, up from 52% in 2022. As of July 2024, these new-energy vehicles account for more than half of total automotive sales in China, while they are just less than a quarter of the automotive market in Europe.
The popular adoption of electric vehicles is leading to the installation of more charging stations, which facilitates the adoption of these cars. This domination creates jobs, which reinforce China's political determination, and so it pushes the links in the industrial chain towards innovation. It's almost like the circles that economists would call virtuous and that environmentally-minded political parties in Europe would dearly like to see, where the transition develops the economy rather than penalizes it.
Of course, China has its own challenges, which are colossal. With 60% of its electricity still coming from coal, its electric cars can be considered to run... on coal. Furthermore, the surplus of brands and production is obvious. 2024 was the year of the price war but for analyst Lei Xing, host of the podcast "China EVs and more," 2025 will turn into a "bloodbath" between Chinese manufacturers, which will have a social cost.
Massive subsidy policy
However, what China has in its favor is the market: Demand for electric vehicles is now well established. Political rhetoric in support of electric cars has always been consistent, as Beijing saw an opportunity for a breakthrough. Manufacturers in Europe and the US rested on their laurels: combustion engines. Many political leaders found it difficult to sell such rhetoric to their citizens, or were even hostile to it, like US president-elect Donald Trump.
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