One only has to look back a few decades to see the sea change in the Chinese auto industry. The Asian giant appears to have been hibernating for years. With more than one billion inhabitants, the introduction of the electric car has been dazzling. In just a few years it has gone from not existing to registering record sales figures. Forecasts set a new trade ceiling, as China expects to close the year 2022 with more than six million electric cars registered. Quite a record.
Much less do we have to go back to understand the magnitude of these figures. If we pay attention to the official figures, In 2005, 5,758,000 cars of any kind were sold in China.. However, over the years and the increase in the per capita income of its inhabitants, the Chinese began to buy cars, more and more. In 2017 it was the year in which the highest number of registrations were registered, 28,879,000 units. The effects of the COVID pandemic have been felt in the last two courses, although last year sales rose again throughout the country.
Six million electric cars in one year is the highest number ever recorded in any country. To give you an idea, so far this year, in Spain, a total of 19,361 electric cars have been registered. Only in the month of July, the Asian country registered a total of 486,000 electric units soldwhich represents a market share of 27%, almost nine times more than the data for Spain.
Such has been the volume of sales that the Chinese Passenger Car Association has had to recalculate the annual forecasts. The original figures marked an annual record of 5.5 million electric cars, but everything indicates that it was going to fall short. Although the second quarter has been a slight setback for sales given the policy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales rebounded last July. If the forecasts materialize, China will double sales of new energy cars (NEV) in a single year, after signing 2.99 million units in 2021.
It is normal for all manufacturers to see in China an excellent territory where they can focus almost all their attention. Large conglomerates set up numerous manufacturing facilities in the country. Some of them, such as the Volkswagen Group, offer specific models for China, adjusted to the country’s aesthetic and habitability tastes. As for brands, BYD and Tesla are the firms preferred by new electric driversalthough it highlights the progression of younger and smaller manufacturers such as Hozon, which made more than 14,000 deliveries last month.
A large part of the sales success is due to the beneficial aid and promotions offered by the central government and the different local governments.. Some of them offer a tax reduction of up to 50%. The ability to recover has been exceptional. The industry has recovered quickly after a very difficult quarter due to the closure of factories and assembly lines. China is unstoppable in terms of sales, and such is the popularity that its brands are gaining that many of them are already daring to explore new horizons such as XPeng or NIO.
