China sold more than 500,000 EVs sold in 2016 alone

The Middle Kingdom never does things in halves and Electric Vehicles are not an exception. The country has a razor sharp policy and vision and throws enormous resources behind its plan to make itself the leader. This has happened in numerous new industries such as LEDs, solar panels, wind turbines etc. etc. The government started making plans to become the No.1 player in EVs a long time back and it has already made substantial progress. China is not only the leading country in terms of EVs but also a major manufacturer of EV cars and the components that go into making it.

China also has its government extending into all forms of private and public organizations which can make its policy easy to implement. It has mandated that all taxis should become EVs. Already more than 160,000 buses in China run on electricity and there are more than 200 million electric bikes. The combined stock of EVs in China dwarf the whole world. The country also has target that car companies should meet 8% of their total production from EVs. This is huge considering that only 0.1% of the total cars in the world currently run on electricity.

The government has also ensured that the sales of Electric Vehicles in the country has led to growth in jobs, technology and manufacturing creating overall wealth for the country. 8 out of the top 10 EV brands in the country are Chinese owned mainly by BYD and BAIC. Also 60% of the world’s battery production happens in China which is the main component of an EV.  The country has made sure that only domestic manufacturers gain through the sales of EVs in the country by introducing licensing and making sure that the government departments buy only from licensed EV makers which are all Chinese owned or have a Chinese JV partner.

Electric Vehicle has also been made a strategic industry by China for its Vision 2025 plan and it wants to make sure that it dominates the automobile industry of the future. With its huge domestic demand and government support, this does not look like a far fetched vision.