China’s Electric Vehicles are all over Europe. Why?

A rental car lot has Europe’s finest automobiles ranging from German Audis to Spanish Peugeots on the Italian shore. It has a new offer, an electric SUV with an alien logo. It belongs to the Aiway brand; moreover, a rental agent named Hertz Corsica was recruited with the help of Aiways.

What is Airways? It is a Chinese Electric Vehicle maker that has plans to go public. We already know about NIO and other brands in China that have gone public or are seeking to go public.

Did you also know that Chinese firms like Geely have ownership in European brands like Volvo? The level of ownership interest from Chinese firms in various companies globally might surprise you!

Here is what you need to know about the rise of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe.

 

The Rise of Chinese EVs

China’s electric market has taken the automobile field of the world by storm as more than 50 Chinese companies are making cutting-edge cars and components, out of which many are selling in Europe. Aiways was founded in 2017 and exported its first model to Europe in 2018.

All across China’s industrial heartland, high-tech goods are present.

This is no surprise as China is seeking to grow its domestic sales and external as well. It is in the process to strike a partnership with many in the EU to expand its business prospects.

COVID boosted the growth of Chinese EV companies

Under the European targeted climate plan, almost 30 million electric cars would be sold by 2030. However, last year only 2.2 million were sold. China is responsible for selling almost half of all-electric vehicles globally. This is an interesting point because it shows that it China is leaning into the clean and sustainable narrative as more European nations seek to implement EV mandates.

China’s electric car armada is categorized into Xpeng, Nio, and Aiways. Nio started to sell its SUVs to Norway last year. However, it is moving forward to expand to 25 countries by 2025. These include Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.

Batteries: A key to China’s EV Inc

Chinese products have a history with Europe regarding cars. However, this history is not a great one. But during these years, China has taken a different approach, and the tables have turned. In the 80s and 90s, the Chinese were making copies of the overseas brand, but now in the electric vehicle era, China is creating a name for itself in electric cars.

It has formed a dominant position in a critical aspect of the market, batteries.

China is also making its way forward with further work on EV software. China’s prices are largely still competitive over the rest of the foreign companies importing cars.

 

Chinese companies behind European EV brands

China has a liberalization-like approach when approaching Europe. Many people believe that they are not growing too fast as they want. They seek to maintain their customer experience and collect as much data as possible. There is variety and diversity amongst Chinese automakers. Some of them focus on brands while others on specifications. However, many vast brands of Europe like British MG are now owned by China.