How China is changing the motor industry

In this article: The industry is seeing huge developments, driven by a handful of countries, and China is one of the biggest forces

The world is changing, and new superpowers are coming into the automotive industry, helping to shape the future of personal mobility. Where once the American and German car manufacturers had a strangle hold on the market, now new companies are emerging, and from countries that haven’t traditionally had a strong motoring sector.

One of the biggest impacts has been made by Chinese firms. Over the past decade or so companies such as Geely have been investing heavily in the next-generation of car technologies to help ween us off the combustion engine and petroleum.

China is a hotbed of electrification development, and is cornering the market in battery technology – the country has a whopping 73% of the global lithium manufacturing capacity, according to analysis by research firm BloombergNEF – putting it in an enviable position as the EV market continues to grow.

The list of Chinese EV start-up firms is constantly expanding, and investors are keen to tap into a potential market that could far exceed the EV and hybrid sales of 1.2 million units sold last year in China. European alternative fueled vehicle sales pale in to insignificance in comparison.

And the stratospheric growth in the Asian goliath is pushing other markets to invest too. Back in Europe, NorthVolt, a Swedish firm backed by the likes of BMW, Volkswagen and ABB, is growing its ability to produce battery systems for the mass market. Whether the investment will be sufficient remains to be seen, but it highlights the impact China, and its vehicle manufacturers, is having on the global market.

But the industry isn’t only being pushed by Asian giants. In issue three of MotorPro magazine, we look at the countries making the biggest waves in our industry and the areas that are being driven by them, whether that’s autonomous driving or investing in the next-generation of talent.

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