Volkswagen is on track for its smallest year of China sales since 2012, according to CNBC analysis of public data for the first three quarters of the year.
The EV market is very saturated in China, too saturated in fact, hence why they are affordable. A lot of the Chinese manufacturers outside of the big players like BYD are losing money. In the US, there is lack of variety of models and Tesla dominates the market share.
There are several key factors why EV adoption in China is high. First, China actually invested in charging infrastructure, which is something the US is still significantly behind. The cost of charging in China is very cheap compared to fueling up. And one point that most people don’t realize is that the biggest hurdle to buying a car in China isn’t the car, but the license plate, which is obtained either through lottery or auction. A license plate from a first tier city can costs 5 figures in USD, and may also come with driving restrictions. Meanwhile, if you buy a EV, you get a special green license plate that doesn’t require lottery and has no special restrictions.
The EV market is very saturated in China, too saturated in fact, hence why they are affordable. A lot of the Chinese manufacturers outside of the big players like BYD are losing money. In the US, there is lack of variety of models and Tesla dominates the market share.
There are several key factors why EV adoption in China is high. First, China actually invested in charging infrastructure, which is something the US is still significantly behind. The cost of charging in China is very cheap compared to fueling up. And one point that most people don’t realize is that the biggest hurdle to buying a car in China isn’t the car, but the license plate, which is obtained either through lottery or auction. A license plate from a first tier city can costs 5 figures in USD, and may also come with driving restrictions. Meanwhile, if you buy a EV, you get a special green license plate that doesn’t require lottery and has no special restrictions.