For China’s Auto Market, Electric Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present. - The New York Times

More electric cars will be sold in the country this year than in the rest of the world combined, as its domestic market accelerates ahead of the global competition. By Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu Zhang Youping, a Chinese retiree, purchased an all-electric, small sport utility vehicle from BYD — China’s largest electric vehicle maker — at an auto show for around $20,000 last month. Her family has bought three gas-powered cars in the last decade, but she recently grew concerned about gas prices and decided to go electric “to save money.” A few months earlier, her son had also bought an E.V. It was a $10,000 hatchback from Leapmotor, another Chinese manufacturer. This year, a quarter of all new cars purchased in China will be an all-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid. By some estimates, more than 300 Chinese companies are making E.V.s, ranging from discount offerings below $5,000 to high-end models that rival Tesla and German automakers. There are roughly four million charging uni

More electric cars will be sold in the country this year than in the rest of the world combined, as its domestic market accelerates ahead of the global competition. By Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu Zhang Youping, a Chinese retiree, purchased an all-electric, small sport utility vehicle from BYD — China’s largest electric vehicle maker — at an auto show for around $20,000 last month. Her family has bought three gas-powered cars in the last decade, but she recently grew concerned about gas prices and decided to go electric “to save money.” A few months earlier, her son had also bought an E.V