A concept electic car is charing. (PHOTO:VCG)

By BI Weizi

Green or new energy vehicles (NEVs) are critical to reducing transportation pollution and promoting sustainable development.

China has been promoting the use of NEVs since 2015, in a bid to help reduce emissions and protect the environment.

China, the world's biggest car market, has seen its new energy vehicle (NEV) industry enter the fast lane, powered by the country's low-carbon strategy and surging demand.

With government promotion and increased public awareness of environmental protection, enthusiasm for environmentally friendly NEV is on the rise in the Chinese market. More support and efforts are underway, with great potential ahead.

Rapid growth of China's NEVs globally

According to a news report by market research firm Canalys, sales of NEVs in China more than doubled in the first seven months of 2021 as production and demand continued to recover.

After a period of stagnant growth amid the pandemic, China's NEV sales are back on the road. China's homegrown NEV makers are also growing into a stronger competitive entity: after decades of struggling to match overseas expertise in the internal combustion engine sector, China finally has a real opportunity to relegate overseas car brands to second place in the electric era.

According to the Financial Times and other foreign media reports, China has become the world's largest NEV market in the past few years, and charging facilities are becoming more convenient. It is a new reality that western automakers are feeling the pressure due to the influx of high-quality Chinese NEVs to the market.

Moreover, a German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Chinese NEVs are expanding markets into Europe, and some Chinese NEV brands are superior to German ones in a few tests.

Competitiveness in NEVs to surge

The Chinese Government continues its efforts to support and stimulate the development of the NEV industry, and the latest plan aims to chart a path for progress over the next 15 years, promoting the industry's sustainable development while shifting to green technologies, according to Fastmarkets, which provides market-reflective price data, news and insights for various markets.

The government plan notes that China's NEV industry has improved significantly through years of concerted efforts, with total production and sales of NEVs putting China at the top of the global rankings since 2015.

With breakthroughs in several key technologies such as batteries, drive motors and vehicle operating systems, China's international competitiveness is expected to increase significantly. The safety of China's NEVs is also expected to increase significantly by 2025.

According to the China Passenger Car Market Information Association (CPCA), the penetration rate of new energy vehicles was 14.8 percent in July, 2021, compared to 5.8 percent in 2020. It means China is on the road to become a market leader in the NEV sector, thus enjoying a unique marketing advantage.

What's more, from 2021 to 2035, China will continue to promote efficient cooperation between the NEV industry and other renewable energy sectors.

It will promote information sharing and integration of NEVs with meteorological and renewable energy forecasting systems, wind and solar energy.

The bright future for China's NEVs

China has announced an ambitious plan to require all new cars sold in 2035 to be hybrids or NEVs, a move that could have a significant impact on global auto brands.

The plan is in line with China's determination to clean up the air pollution plaguing many cities， and with China's goal of being carbon neutral by 2060 and peaking its carbon emissions by 2030.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an American think tank, China's economy appears to have sprung back to normal.

While the overall growth numbers have recovered and China has put forward an ambitious economic agenda for the next five years, optimism has also returned to the NEV sector, a good metric for the new economy.

There is growing speculation that China's NEV sector is ready to burst onto the global stage and become an export powerhouse.