China’s EV OEMs near the 500 mark

Electric mobility through at a nascent stage globally has seen a lot of interest not only from legacy vehicle manufacturers but also from non-automotive players as well as a strong set of start-ups.

In a recent article ‘The Wall Street Journal’ found out that China, the biggest Asian country, currently has around 487 electric car manufacturers along with a huge boost by local government for more. Not surprising, since China is easily the largest EV market in the world and now drawing investment from global automakers in spades.  

According to the report, Chinese president Xi Jinping’s ‘Made in China 2025’ plan is giving a boost to start-ups, which is spurring overcapacity concerns. It cites an example of the Chinese start-up Singulato Motors, which got $535 million (Rs 3,380 crore) in land and capital to build an electric car plant. The start-up was founded by a group of tech professionals led by a former internet-security executive who had never run a car company before.

The report states that such partnerships are springing up all over China, which is spurred by Beijing’s call for the country to become a world power in EV technology and by local governments eager to jump on the bandwagon. It says that with the Chinese president’s Made in China 2025 plan, launched three years ago to promote ‘domestic dominance and global competitiveness’ in 10 sectors, includes electric vehicles.

There are now 487 EV makers in China, according to the latest official tally, and most are brand new. In June, the National Development and Reform Commission and China Construction Bank announced a new $47 billion (Rs 296,899 crore) fund for EVs and other high-tech industries.

The report says that even the state (regional) governments are making similar funding commitments, and direct government subsidies on EV sales have totalled $15 billion (Rs 94,755 crore) over the last five years.