China will reach its electric car sales target before the West

Already next year, battery-powered cars will occupy more than half of the world’s largest market. This forecast is given by UBS, HSBC, Morningstar and Wood Mackenzie, writes the Financial Times. By the end of this year, the Chinese will buy 12 million electric cars – 20 percent more than in 2023. If the trend continues, China will be able to achieve the green goal before Europe and 10 years earlier than planned.

In 2020, the Chinese government set a goal of increasing the market share of electric vehicles to 50 percent by 2035. At the current pace, this milestone will be crossed already in 2025.

And by 2034, sales of battery-powered cars in China could reach 18 million units. Demand for fuel cars, on the contrary, will consistently decline and by the same date will fall below the three million mark, experts predict.

The popularity of hybrids is also growing. In 2025, the volume of sold PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) will also set a record, and in 2033 it will exceed six million units. The result of traditional gasoline-electric cars is predicted at levels from 730 thousand to a million per year.

How prices for electric cars and hybrids have changed in 2024 In Italy, car production may collapse to 1958 levels. South Korea may impose duties on Chinese cars, following Europe and the USA.

Along with fuel cars, foreign brands are losing the Chinese market, as the Chinese increasingly prefer domestic products. In 2024, the share of foreign cars fell to just 37 percent, compared to 64 percent in 2020.

However, the rapid rise of electric cars will sooner or later stop: an excess assortment will lead to fierce competition and price wars, analysts are sure. As a result, many brands may disappear. The same is predicted for Russia, which has been flooded by the “Chinese”: candidates for relegation will be brands without local assembly and major market players behind them.

We are waiting in Russia: Chinese news