That China has gone directly with the electric car is something that almost everyone already knows. The Beijing government’s commitment to new technologies has been a priority for more than a decade to reduce energy dependence and emissions. A dynamic that is definitely exploding in recent years where sales have multiplied exponentially.
According to data published by the Chinese government, battery electric cars (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have accumulated between January and March this year a total of 2.55 million units worldwide, of which BEVs account for 70%.
Sales that have been concentrated mainly in China, which has managed to reach no less than 1.5 million units in the quarter, which means 59% of the registrations of this type of vehicle.
These sales represent a growth of 25% compared to the first quarter of 2022. A much better number than it seems since it occurs at a time when the Chinese government has withdrawn a large part of public aid for the purchase of electric cars.
In addition to increasing its sales, China is taking advantage of its commitment and investment in this technology multiplying its exports. In the first quarter of 2023, China exported 775,000 electric cars, which is equivalent to more than 15% of China’s total automobile output, accounting for an interannual growth of 87%.
Some electric or plug-in hybrid models that grow in the share of exports, and that in the first three months of the year represented 28% of the units destined for foreign markets.
An example of the growth of local groups is embodied BYD. These exported just 2,598 electric cars in the first quarter of 2022. In the same period this year the figure has multiplied to 38,722 units. Fourteen times more in just 12 months and still in full acceleration phase in its industrial capacity.
A Chinese positioning that is coming at a key moment where sales of electric cars are growing strongly throughout the world, where the market share of electric and plug-in hybrids in the first quarter of 2023 reached 13% globally.
In the case of China, the share of electric sales has reached 28%. Far ahead of other markets, such as Germany with 18%, the United States, with 8%, or galaxies away from Japan, which barely reaches 3%.
A bet that, as we can see, is not only allowing the transformation of the local fleet to be accelerated, but has also benefited its industry, which is managing to compete with and even surpass Western groups, something that until now had not been achieved with combustion engines.
