STORY: NEV makers move fast in China leveraging innovation, cooperation
SHOOTING TIME: recent footage
DATELINE: May 12, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:20
LOCATION: HEFEI/GUANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the NEV sector

STORYLINE:

Fierce competition has driven up technological innovation and industrial upgrading in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, with auto brands revving up investment and seeking cooperation.

In the first quarter of this year, China's NEV sales climbed 31.8 percent year on year to 2.09 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Data from the association also showed that the country's NEV sales surged 37.9 percent year on year to about 9.5 million last year, compared with just 75,000 a decade ago.

However, last year saw a survival battle among Chinese NEV makers, after the withdrawal of financial subsidies for NEVs that had been in place for 13 years.

While traditional automakers from home and abroad are accelerating the electrification process, new players are pitching into the sector as well.

China's tech giant Huawei in mid-April made an announcement for a new electric car model Luxeed S7, featuring its self-developed operating system Harmony OS. In late March, Xiaomi, another renowned Chinese tech firm, released its first self-developed NEV model SU7.

Aito, an NEV brand jointly developed by Huawei and Chongqing-based automaker Seres, started the delivery of a six-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) M9 in February this year, featuring a futuristic smart cockpit running on Harmony OS.

Meanwhile, as the NEV industrial chain is also turning to be more inter-related and inclusive, more market potential emerges in China, attracting more international investment.

Volkswagen Group China in April announced that it will invest 2.5 billion euros in the expansion of its innovation hub in China's Hefei.

Japanese tech firm Panasonic also plans to increase investment in south China's Guangdong Province, focusing on NEV components and intelligent manufacturing.

In March, a new joint venture set up by Mercedes-Benz Group China Ltd. and BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. was registered in Beijing to support the operation of their supercharging network in the Chinese market.

These are all signals demonstrating that China welcomes industry players to tap into its market potential and build a more robust e-mobility ecosystem together.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hefei/Guangzhou, China.
(XHTV)