Last year, China surpassed Germany and became the second largest exporter of cars in the world. And this year I overtook the leader — Japan. 

China’s dominance in the global car market is becoming a reality from forecasts, and the West is urgently looking for ways to return to the time when the whole world drove German, Japanese, French and American-made cars.

The main export brand of an electric car with the brand “Made in China” is Tesla. But gradually, not only batteries, but also machines of their own Chinese design are gaining domestic consumers and rushing to the world market.

In just a decade, China has created the automotive industry of the future and achieved leadership in exports.

It is mainly to the EU that merchant ships loaded with electric cars assembled in China are sent, since the 27 countries of the bloc with a population of 450 million people are a giant rich market comparable only to the American one. However, China has very strained relations with the United States, and the EU has a favorable trade regime.

The most popular brand in China for years was Volkswagen, and now – BYD. The Germans, meanwhile, inspect Chinese cars at a salon in Munich last week.

To popularize electric vehicles, China has rapidly created the world’s largest charging network — more than 6 million points — and forced manufacturers to unify the standard of chargers.

The result of two decades of state support exceeded all expectations.

China has become a leader in the global market of batteries for electric vehicles. CATL now controls 37%, and BYD — almost 15%, the FT business newspaper cites statistics.

CATL batteries are put on their Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen cars, and Ford bought the technology and know-how to build a plant in Michigan.

Behind the batteries (a spare part, albeit the most important one in an electric car), finished products — cars of their own Chinese design – also became leaders.