Capital IdeasTM
Investment insights from Capital Group
Automotive
Jason Zhang
2023 was a record year for electric vehicles (EVs): global sales neared 14 million, reaching 18% of all cars sold. To put things into perspective, over 250,000 EVs were sold every week in 2023, which was more than the number sold in a year just a decade ago.1
A key driver of this seismic shift from EVs being a novelty to a mass-market product has been China. Chinese car makers manufactured more than half of all EVs sold worldwide in 2023 while almost 60% of new EV registrations were in China. In short, China is both the world’s largest manufacturer as well as consumer of EVs.1
A big reason for that is down to the Chinese government’s strong commitment to invest heavily and grow its EV industry earlier than anyone else. Over the past two decades, there has been a series of well-funded policy measures to boost both the demand and supply of EVs. This includes land grants and production subsidies for EV makers and tax breaks for EV purchases.
The country excels in manufacturing technologically advanced EVs quicker and cheaper than global peers but growing concerns from foreign authorities over the rapid expansion of Chinese EVs overseas could hinder their international ambitions
In this Q&A, Capital Group investment analyst Jason Zhang discusses the key characteristics that make China so dominant in the EV space and whether the country can maintain its leading position in the face of this growing scrutiny.
Publicly accessible light-duty vehicle charging points (by power rating and region)
Source: IEA analysis based on country submissions.
1. Global EV Outlook 2024. Source: International Energy Agency
Our latest insights
-
-
Asset Allocation
-
-
-
Interest Rates
RELATED INSIGHTS
-
Interest Rates
-
Fixed Income
-
Fixed Income
Past results are not predictive of results in future periods. It is not possible to invest directly in an index, which is unmanaged. The value of investments and income from them can go down as well as up and you may lose some or all of your initial investment. This information is not intended to provide investment, tax or other advice, or to be a solicitation to buy or sell any securities.
Statements attributed to an individual represent the opinions of that individual as of the date published and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Capital Group or its affiliates. All information is as at the date indicated unless otherwise stated. Some information may have been obtained from third parties, and as such the reliability of that information is not guaranteed.
Capital Group manages equity assets through three investment groups. These groups make investment and proxy voting decisions independently. Fixed income investment professionals provide fixed income research and investment management across the Capital organization; however, for securities with equity characteristics, they act solely on behalf of one of the three equity investment groups.