BEIJING: By most measures, the last thing China needs is more electric cars crowding a market with more losers than winners, driving down prices at the expense of profit and taking the fight for market share beyond China.
Automakers are expected to launch 110 EVs and plug-in hybrids in 2024, many at the Beijing auto show that starts Thursday. Those new offerings, dominated by Chinese brands, will join the almost 400 “new energy” models already in China’s showrooms, according to industry data.
By contrast, there were just over 50 EV models on sale in the United States last year.
But while there is a peril in China’s overcapacity, there is also a power in the hyper-competition it has unleashed, analysts, suppliers and executives say. China’s leading EV makers have found ways to slash vehicle development time, combining speed to market with new features and a pricing advantage rivals outside cannot match.
“This is a technological revolution,” said Wang Xun, founder and chairman of Shanghai-based auto design and engineering firm Launch Design. “And in this revolution, Chinese brands are at the forefront.”
The top-selling 10 EVs – a list dominated by BYD and Tesla – have accounted for over half of sales in China so far this year. With capacity to build more battery-powered vehicles than the market can support, prices at home are tumbling and exports are rising.
BYD, China’s leading EV maker, has cut domestic prices on three leading models by more than 9% this year.
“Things become cheaper quicker in China,” said David Li, CEO of Hesai , a leading supplier of LIDAR remote sensing technology for self-driving features. “It’s not because China is cheap. It’s because China is fast.”
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