Affordable China Electric Cars ThreatenTesla’s Lead in Electric Vehicle Industry [Video]

Jan 16, 2017 06:46 AM EST | Leonora Puno

Electric vehicles made in China can be a serious threat to Tesla, currently the leading electric vehicle maker. With China keen on contributing to greening the environment by building more electric vehicles for its populace, Tesla has to compete with local electric vehicle makers. Locally made vehicles are sold at the lowest prices because of government subsidies.

China is looking forward to having 5 million electric cars on its roads in 2020 and at the rate that they are produced; this will be most likely possible. The Chinese are more utilitarian when it comes to cars. To them, a car is just a means of mobility; they use it to go to work or to their appointments. They are not keen on flashy cars and so they find the locally made plug-in cars more desirable than those attractive cars made by foreign car companies, according to REUTERS.

Aside from the possibility of monopolizing the electric car industry in China, electric buses from the country are now being sold in South America, Africa, and Europe. This means that China-made vehicles will be Tesla's competitors in these countries. China also has car makers that are capable of making high-end electric vehicles that can be sold in the United States. GAC cars have been shown in the NAIAS 2017 and these companies are looking forward to expanding in the country, according to iTechPost.

The rising popularity of electric cars is caused by its affordability. While Tesla electric cars are for the rich, those made in China are so affordable that even taxi drivers might be able to afford one. In terms of sales, electric cars made by BYD, a Chinese automaker company has a sale of $12.3 billion last year while Tesla sold $3.1 billion worth of electric cars in 2014. The figures show how popular China electric vehicles are becoming, according to Forbes.

With the GAC vehicles receiving a positive response at the 2017 NAIAS in Detroit, the future seems bright for the electric vehicles made in China. There is a big possibility that electric vehicles made in China will soon dominate the world market.

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