While Beijing has supported the industry for more than a decade, its efforts took on new momentum with the introduction of the now-notorious “Made in China 2025” industrial strategy in 2015.
The results have been predictable. Last year, Chinese manufacturers sold 1.256 million NEVs, mostly electric cars — nearly 62 percent more than 2017, putting the country on track to meet its goal of 2 million NEVs sold in 2020. Currently, China accounts for more than half of all electric-car sales in the world.
Batteries are the most common source of problems. Some don’t perform as advertised. Others drain unusually fast. Still others run dangerously hot. More than 40 NEVs spontaneously combusted in China in 2018. True, as with any new technology, teething problems are to be expected. But China’s government-sponsored largesse and highly protected market have clearly exacerbated the problem. By one estimate, there are “as many as 500” NEV startups in China, most of which have little to no experience in making or marketing automobiles.