China's carmakers are building EVs for the world

In the first three quarters of 2022, China exported 2.2 million vehicles of all kinds for sale to the rest of the world. This figure represents a 54 per cent increase over the same period in 2021, and is more than double the average of all the years from 2012 to 2022.

Where passenger cars are concerned electric vehicles have been the greatest contributor to this increase with 342,000 Chinese-made EVs exported in the first nine months of 2022. According to reports from Bloomberg, this number forms 29 per cent of all passenger cars exported from China during the stated period. It's a big jump from 2019, when EVs made up just 2 per cent of the country's vehicle exports.

The reasons for China's EV export growth have been laid on its dominance of battery technology and materials supplies, allowing domestic automotive factories to ramp up production.

From the completely Chinese BYD Atto 3 to the made in China BMW iX3 and supported tech within the Toyota BZ4X,  other established automakers are using the country's lower production costs and strong supply chains to whip up EVs for customers around the globe quickly as interest in the technology takes off.

Tesla is a major exporter from its factory in Shanghai. It shipped more than 160,000 vehicles from its plant to international markets, including Singapore, in the first nine months of this year.

Volkswagen has also readied its Chinese factory to begin building electric vehicles for selected sectors worldwide. 

Chinese domestic brands, once a questionable purchase but now fully up to speed, make up the balance of the country's EV exports. SAIC, which owns former Birtish brand MG, saw its EV exports jump to 78,000 vehicles in the first three quarters.

Meanwhile, BYD exported 22,000 vehicles and plans to do a lot more in 2023. Companies including DFSK, Maxus, and Great Wall also have announced long term, international expansion plans.

Considering that less than 10 years ago, back in 2015 to be exact, 66 per cent of all vehicle sales in China were from joint ventures between international and domestic brands, bring Chinese cars worldwide seemed like quite a leap.

However EVs are changing all that. The country has steadily built up its EV industry through a multi-pronged approach, with government fleet purchasing requirements, subsidies, supply-side incentives and investments in charging infrastructure.

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You might be surprised to know that almost 60 per cent of global EV sales are now in China; its share of the battery supply chain is even higher.

Within China, plug-in vehicles now account for almost 30 per cent of new car sales. Chinese carmaker BYD is also on pace to sell almost 2 million plug-in vehicles this year and has said in a statement that it is confident of moving more than 3 million new cars in 2023. 

Back here in Singapore, while high COE prices have continued to keep car sales at a low pace, new electric vehicles are arriving in greater numbers than before.

The recent figures from the Land Transport Authority offer a peak into the swing of the tide. Between July 2022 to November 2022 there were 464 new Tesla EVs, 1,764 petrol-electric hybrid Toyotas, and 404 electric BYDs registered. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz sold the largest amount of petrol-only cars, to the tune of 1,094 new cars, and that's not including the 163 new electric-only Mercedes-EQ models registered. 

This article was first published in CarBuyer.