By Wu Siya

 

BEIJING, Apr. 29 (China Economic Net)- The Auto China 2024 opened in Beijing on April 25 with the biggest names showing off their latest electric vehicles, underlining how the world's largest auto market is already in an all-electric state of mind.

 

 

“At the Beijing auto show, there’s no doubt there is no interest in gasoline vehicles anymore. Everyone is looking for the latest technologies in intelligence and electrification,” William Li, founder and CEO of Chinese EV maker Nio. “Although the current domestic penetration rate of NEVs exceeds 50%, there is still a lot of room for the penetration rate of pure electric vehicles. In the future, more pure EV products will be launched.” 

 

It is abundantly clear that while US-led Western countries are taking unilateral and protectionist actions against China’s booming NEV sector, global leading automakers such as BMW and Audi have briskly increased their investment, especially in the field of new energy, in the biggest market.

 

Many people noticed that there were obviously more foreigners at this auto show, and the attitude of foreign car manufacturers has also changed. Executives from multinational car companies not only came to promote their own products, but also carefully studied the technology and design of Chinese new-energy vehicles. However, there has been none of the “overcapacity” or “weakened demand” that someone expected for the Beijing auto show, nor “Chinese car companies squeezing foreign competitors.” What people can see is learn from each other in mutual emulation.

 

 

In response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s accusation of “overcapacity” in China’s new energy industry, “what’s excessive is not China's capacity, but the US’ anxiety,” said Yang Tao, director-general of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, when briefing the media on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China.

 

Zhang Hong, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that from the perspective of companies with sold models, the capacity utilization rate of Chinese automobile companies is higher than international levels.

 

“In 2023, China has become the world's largest automobile exporter, with most exporting countries and regions currently do not have an automobile industry or have insufficient automobile production capacity. The automobiles exported by China just meet local demand, enriching the choices of local consumers and powerfully promoted the prosperity of the local automobile market,” Zhang pointed out. “If these countries and regions do not have consumption demand, Chinese automobile definitely cannot be able to enter their markets. Therefore, China’s automobile production capacity must be viewed from the global demand.”

 

According to a forecast by the International Energy Agency in 2023, the world's total sales volume of electric vehicles is set to reach 45 million in 2030, about 4.5 times the sales volume recorded in 2022, underscoring that global supply of new-energy products is not excessive but insufficient.

 

“While the collective West deems China’s ‘overcapacity’ a threat, it can be an opportunity for the Global South,” Marco Fernandes, Research Fellow, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Brazil, emphasized. And Klaus Zyciora, a world-renowned automobile designer and Vice President of Changan Automobile, was even more blunt, “I don’t see ‘overcapacity’. What I see is the huge demand for new energy vehicles in the global market. China will influence global markets more deeply than we see today.”