Europe gave the world the automotive vehicle through initiatives by Karl Benz, and Louis Renault. Now the Hong Kong Office of CNN Business thinks it will have to give way to Asia. The West will have to watch, it says, as China crushes European EV aspirations through sheer weight of numbers. And it makes a compelling argument for this.
China Crushes European Aspirations for Batteries
The EU has already seen the risks its fledgling EV industry faces. Its Battery Directive calls for EV battery manufacture within its borders. But China holds the wild card because it is by far the largest market for electric vehicles.
China crushes European electric vehicle dreams by the heavy tariffs it places on imported EV’s. Europe simply will not sell its products unless it makes them within China’s borders. But there is more bad news to come. China commands the EV battery manufacturing industry, and batteries amount to about 40% of the value of electric cars.
It Just Makes More Sense to Produce EV’s in China
Well that’s at least what Simone Tagliapietra says. He is an energy analyst at Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, a Milan-based think tank. The move brings triple benefits. The customers are closer, the battery plants are closer, and there are no import tariffs.
The wheel has come full turn. Europe is no longer a mighty colonial power. China produces two-thirds of global lithium-ion batteries, while Europe trails with a meagre 1%. Volkswagen has already seen the light, while Tesla is building a factory to make 500,000 electric cars a year in Shanghai.
The United States only manages 100,000 EV’s annually. Perhaps this is why Netherlands-based Lithium Werks is building a Shanghai facility to power 160,000 cars a year. From where we sit, the argument is done and dusted. China crushes European electric vehicle dreams because it saw the potential earlier, and stole a ‘night march’ on its competition.
Related
Tracking Electric Vehicle Batteries in China
European Union Batteries Directive Update
Preview Image: Lichi B01 Electric Small Vehicle
