STORY: Rise of China's NEVs taking green innovation global
SHOOTING TIME: Earlier footage
DATELINE: Sept. 9, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:03
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Chengdu Motor Show
2. various of vehicles
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PAUL BURROWS, Secretary General, World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MICHAEL SCHUMANN, Chairman of Board of German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): RODGERS NUMANYA, Standards officer, Uganda National Bureau of Standards

STORYLINE:

From Aug. 30 to Sept. 8, nearly 130 Chinese and foreign car companies displayed more than 1,600 vehicles at Chengdu Motor Show in Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. 

Customers were presented with a plethora of designs that ranged from intelligent new energy vehicles (NEVs) and plug-in hybrids to high-performance luxury sedans and striking concept cars.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China exported 4.91 million vehicles last year, marking a year-on-year growth of 57.9 percent.

Over 1.2 million of these vehicles were NEVs, a 77.6 percent increase from the previous year.

This milestone establishes China as the world's largest automobile exporter for the first time.

In July, the retail penetration rate of NEVs in China exceeded 50 percent for the first time, reaching 51.1 percent. 

It marks a shift in the Chinese automotive market, with NEVs officially surpassing traditional fuel-powered cars to become the new mainstream.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PAUL BURROWS, Secretary General, World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations
"I do feel that the Chinese EVs are a generation ahead of anything that I've seen coming out of Europe in terms of their extra functionality. It's one area of technology where China really has a strong lead."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MICHAEL SCHUMANN, Chairman of Board of German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade    
"If you look at Germany, we are lagging behind in our strategic objectives for transitioning to e-mobility. I think that competition would be good for everyone. And that would help meet our climate goals, reduce CO2 and make it easier for consumers, for people, to transition to electric vehicles. We need to transition faster. We need more variety of models here on the street. The consumers need better prices. And I think competition and more offers from China could help achieve that faster."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): RODGERS NUMANYA, Standards officer, Uganda National Bureau of Standards
"We are looking at the commitment to moving towards a global goal of having zero emissions by promoting EVs. This is very, very important. Even to us in Africa, the developing world, we are looking to this. And maybe one of the impressions is that we are considering China to be our first benchmark in this."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)