A yellow variant of the electric Panda mini from Geely is among the Chinese brands that is competing with legacy automakers in electric vehicle market.
Shanghai has shown Chinese brands “can compete with all of the legacy automakers in every way — performance, quality, comfort, there’s nothing they can’t do”, said EV specialist Elliot Richards, joking he had seen “a lot of worried-looking German men wandering around”. Despite a downturn across the global auto sector, Li said he thought EVs’ market share in China could increase to over 40% this year.“The future is very much here now,” Mike Johnstone, a top executive at British luxury brand Lotus, told AFP.China has dedicated huge resources to the industry.
Central and local authorities poured billions of dollars into subsidies and tax breaks, and allocated public transport contracts to EV companies. “In general, there are still a lot of preferential policies… for the production and sale of electric vehicles,” said Nio’s Li, using as an example the waiving of expensive licence plate fees in some cities.That tactic helped lure industry leader Tesla to Chinese shores, bolstering the sector’s reputation and sparking further competition.
Just before the show opened CATL announced those batteries would be incorporated into domestic brand Chery’s cars.Brands within the Chinese market are “setting the benchmark now” for others, Lotus’ Johnstone said.The biggest of them, BYD, set up shop in Norway then expanded onwards, and others are following.