China has its own brands of domestic cars. For instance, the Chery, a government owned corporation, (the pinyin transcription of its Chinese name is Qirui).
China’s Automobile Dealer Association reported that there were 25 Chinese sedan brands available in January, but they expect that number to eventually reach five domestic brands, because of government restrictions and increased costs of licenses for gas and diesel vehicles, in addition to competition from foreign automakers. The fact that China eliminated the 10% vehicle tax on Chinese electric vehicles might have also played an important part. – Fortune.com
It doesn’t help that Chinese cities are seriously restricting the number of new license plates for gas and diesel to reduce traffic and pollution. And that might explain why “China is now one of the largest electric car markets in the world.” While sales of traditional gas/diesel powered cars are dropping, sales of electric cars “appear to have more than tripled as compared to the previous year …” – Clean Technica
“(China’s) Government data shows that local-brand passenger vehicles accounted for 38% of China’s domestic market in 2014, down from 46% in 2010. For sedans, local brands’ share fell to 22% from 31%.” – The Wall Street Journal “But during the last four months of 2014, China’s electric vehicle sales skyrocketed, In December alone, monthly sales of passenger and commercial electric vehicles hit 27,000. … If this growth continues, China may surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest market for electric vehicles in 2015.” – Fortune.com
Look out, Tesla, the Chinese are coming, and they are serious. If you don’t believe me, visit China and breathe the air in most if not all of its major cities. After you stop gasping and wheezing, you will then be a believer of why the Chinese are going to go electric in a big way.
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.
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