NEVs going global a boon for Chinese automakers

The appearance of some electric vehicles of Chinese brands in the Paris Motor Show 2022, held from Oct 16 to Sunday, has caught wide attention, with some observers seeing it as a sign that the Chinese auto industry is accelerating its pace of going global. Compared with their European counterparts, Chinese new energy vehicle companies have strong competitiveness in terms of supply chain, technology, economy and models. So this is a good opportunity for them to catch up with foreign players in the competitive market.

Over the past 10 years, the Chinese government has rolled out many support policies for the new energy vehicle industry. At the same time, the Chinese auto companies have been actively upgrading their technologies. As a result, the overall strength of the new energy vehicle industry in the country has been constantly improving. The Chinese NEV enterprises can basically meet the needs of the diversified global market in terms of product appearance, design, quality, research and development and production capacity.

Statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers indicate that China's auto exports reached 2.05 million units last year, ranking the third in the world. From January to September this year, domestic automobile enterprises exported 2.12 million vehicles, up 55.5 percent year-on-year, among which 389,000 were new energy vehicles, more than double that of the same period of last year. Over the first nine months of this year, China has overtaken Germany to become the world's second-largest car exporter after the United States.

Over the past 20 years, the world's automobile production and sales have undergone earth-shaking changes, and the rise of the East, particularly China, has become the biggest variable. China's new energy vehicles are not only growing at a high speed but also competing with Western brands in an increasingly confident way in the global market.

Despite this, it should be seen, like many other industries, the new energy vehicle industry also relies on global supply chains and international industrial cooperation. The Chinese automakers should always keep an open mind to working together with partners around the world, and try to have their own intellectual property rights over core technologies and key parts of the industry.