Chinese Electric Car Company

Chinese Electric Car Company

China currently has about 300 EV makers, though this number will likely winnow down to just a few dozen in the coming years. Here are the 15 Chinese companies that sold the most EVs between January and May 2023.

SGMW is a big traditional automaker with longstanding joint ventures with Volkswagen and GM (SAIC-GM-Wuling). Its Wuling minicar is the world’s cheapest EV.

XPeng

XPeng is one of the newer Chinese electric car companies that wants to take on Tesla. Its first model is a coupe SUV called the G3, which will go into production in 2024. The company aims to bolster sales in China at a time when the COVID-19 crisis and Beijing’s subsidy policy have slowed down electric vehicle adoption.

In an all-stock deal, XPeng will buy Didi’s smart EV development business. The deal includes the sharing of “key technologies.” Xpeng will also work with Didi on marketing, financial and insurance services, charging, robotaxis, and international market expansion.

He Xiaopeng, founder and chairman of XPeng, is a former executive at Alibaba and has connections to other tech entrepreneurs who helped fund the company’s initial round. He believes that XPeng can succeed by building attractive cars and providing an interactive mobility experience, as well as offering relatively long driving ranges.

Hozon Auto

Hozon Auto is one of the many EV manufacturers that have sprung up in China. The country’s huge market has attracted dozens of new players each year. The company currently has a single brand called Neta. The company started selling its first production vehicle last year, the NETA N01 compact SUV.

The NETA N01 has a range of 500km (313miles), and the company plans to expand its portfolio with more models based on the HPA and HPC platforms. Hozon’s goal is to sell 300,000 vehicles this year and enter the Middle East and Europe.

The Chinese EV market is competitive, and smaller companies must continually invest in research and development to stay competitive. Hozon Auto has raised funding from several investors, including Shenzhen Capital Group, CRRC Corporation, and Qihoo 360. The company is also looking to raise money through an IPO in Hong Kong.

GAC Aion

The GAC Aion marque is the zero-emissions focus of traditional car manufacturer GAC Group. The youth-focused Aion Y SUV and S sedan are its 4 seater golf cart current production models. In 2022 they accounted for 273,757 units of GAC Group’s overall sales (the rest were traditional vehicles).

The latest Aion LX Plus SUV is the company’s first to offer a claimed 1,000km NEDC range. It recently cleared one of the last steps in China’s certification process, so it should be available for purchase soon.

However, like Hozon Auto, most of GAC Aion’s sales come from car businesses like rental and ride hailing firms (including its own). Unless ordinary consumers start buying more of these vehicles it will be difficult to scale. Fortunately, the company is also working on a high-performance halo product — the Aion Hyper SSR EV supercar. It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in an astounding 1.9s in top-spec guise and 2.3s in entry-level form.

Polestar

Polestar is an electric car brand with a unique take on sustainability. Its vehicles feature a clean, elegant design with eco-friendly materials. It also offers high-performance powertrains. The company has set its sights on becoming a major player in the EV industry and has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Its newest model is the Polestar 2. This electric vehicle is designed to compete with the Tesla Model 3, and it comes in a few different variations. The standard Single Motor model is priced at $59,900 and has a range of 470 km. The top-of-the-line Dual Motor model costs $69,900 and has a range of 480km.

While the Polestar 2 may look large and slab-like in pictures, it’s actually quite compact. Lengthwise, it’s shorter than a BMW 3-series and a Mercedes S-class. Moreover, it has a cool lighting scheme that gives it the KITT vibe from Knight Rider.

Chery

Chery is a major maker of small cars and minivans. It has also made a name for itself in the electric car world with its Arrizo and Tiggo models. Its EVs have garnered some attention for their reliability and safety. However, copying and other legal issues are a recurring problem with this company.

Some of the company’s leaders have moved on, such as Fang Yunzhou, who left in 2014 to found Hozon Automobile and its Neta brand. Others have formed their own companies.

In the last year, Chery has partnered with battery giant CATL for several projects. It is also working with Huawei and Seres to develop premium EVs. chinese electric car company These projects may be the first step towards a return to Australia.

Li Auto

Li Auto designs, develops, manufactures, and sells premium smart electric vehicles. Its mission is to provide families with safe, convenient, and comfortable products and services. It is the pioneer to successfully commercialize extended range electric vehicles (EREVs) in China. The Company started volume production in November 2019. The current model lineup includes the Li ONE, a large, six-seat, premium plug-in hybrid electric SUV.

Unlike competitors like Nio and Xpeng, which contract out their vehicle manufacturing to state-owned partners, Li Auto builds its own cars. This gives it a lower cost of production and may help it to reach profitability more quickly than its rivals. But it is still an early-stage company, and its business could be vulnerable to changes in China’s subsidies for new energy vehicles. It also faces competition from pure EVs with longer battery ranges. Li Auto is betting that its EREV technology will solve consumers’ range anxiety and reduce the high cost of EV ownership.