For many years, China’s electric vehicle market was primarily driven by policy. The combination of fuel economy regulations, a new energy vehicle quota system, government fleet mandates and direct purchase subsidies, all added regulatory pressure and incentives for both car makers and consumers to go electric.
The policies still matter, but recent BloombergNEF analysis shows EV adoption is now running well ahead of what is required purely from national regulations and policy targets.
City-level policies are still playing an important role because they make it difficult to obtain a new licence plate for internal combustion vehicles in China’s major cities. However, even that is not enough to explain why adoption is rising so quickly.
There are many factors at play when a consumer technology starts to take off. Technology maturity, cost competitiveness and word of mouth all play a role. In China’s EV market, there is another factor at play, namely that homegrown EV start-ups have helped to transform perceptions of the vehicles there.
There was talk a few years ago about how many of these start-ups risked being wiped out by stricter technology standards. Instead, some not only survived, but are also growing sales quite quickly.
Xpeng, Hozon New Energy Automobile, Li Auto, Nio, Leap Motor and WM Motor are now selling almost 150,000 EVs a quarter, about 7 per cent of the global total and up more than 10-fold from the beginning of 2020.
These start-ups are less likely to be designing vehicles strictly to comply with regulations, as some Western, Japanese and Chinese car makers with legacy businesses have done.
They have no legacy business to protect, know subsidies will not last for ever and that their products need to stand on their own feet quickly.
China’s EV start-ups also have made a combined push on digital services, in-car connectivity and customer-service experience concurrently with their electrification efforts. These have helped to shift the perception of EVs from one of compliance and regulation to one where you access the coolest tech, and are treated well in the process.
They are not alone, of course. Other dynamic car companies are pursuing a similar strategy, and the start-ups’ share of sales is still relatively small compared with the likes of Tesla and BYD, which sold 255,000 and 354,000 plug-in vehicles globally last quarter, respectively.
But the start-up numbers are still significant. They are ramping up quickly and will probably top 250,000 a quarter next year.
The group getting squeezed by all this is established global car makers, many of which deliberately slow-rolled their EV programmes and are now scrambling to catch up with respect to their model line-ups and battery supply.
As recently as 2020, international car makers had 61 per cent of the total car market in China. That has declined to 49 per cent so far in 2022. Setbacks on software and disputes with local partners are not helping, and with China’s EV sales rising fast, it is becoming harder to see this market share trend reversing.
While western car makers are seeing their share of the Chinese market shrink, China’s EV start-ups are quickly expanding in Europe.
MG Motor, owned by SAIC, sold 40,000 EVs in Europe last year, while groups like Nio, Xpeng, BYD and others have been testing the waters with smaller numbers in countries such as Norway.
All of China’s start-up car makers plan to significantly increase their international presence in the next few years and some of them are launching very cost-competitive EV models to further that goal.
There is a window open for them in Europe right now, because the region’s vehicle carbon dioxide regulations do not tighten again until 2025.
Many established car makers have slowed down their EV roll-out accordingly.
With Tesla, BYD and these EV start-ups all at the gate, this may not be a wise strategy.
Company%20profile
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RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Najem Al Rwasi, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000, 2,400m
Winner: Recordman, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000, 2,200m
Winner: AF Taraha, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Dhafra, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000, 1,600m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Fernando Jara, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000, 1,600m
Winner: Optimizm, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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