SHENZHEN – Sitting in the electric vehicle of a friend, I felt like sitting in a front-row seat of a warm home theater in the cold winter. Preinstalled streaming video apps played the latest screened movies at a touch. Trendy music echoed in the soundproof vehicle. Not to mention the voice wake-up and recognition system that could tell the car where to go, play your favorite song or lower the volume by simply asking. I thought it indeed gives us more reason to stay at our comfortable zone in the car instead of going home or the cinema under the pandemic.
The increasing popularity of smart cars among the young generation has certainly helped give rise to the booming of the EV industry across China, in particular the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, where a matured and completed industry supply chain has been built to prop up the new energy vehicle industry.
According to the Greater Bay Area outline development plan released in February 2019, industries related to the new energy vehicles and energy conservation and environmental protection technologies are high on its agenda in the construction of a world-class living circle. Three years into its release, EV and its related industries have taken shape in the 11-city cluster.
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In May 2020, the first self-built manufacturing production base of Xpeng, an upstart EV builder, went into operation, with an investment of 10 billion yuan. In August 2021, the EV carmaker announced to extend its manufacturing factory in Zhaoqing city of the Bay Area, which will double its production capacity from 100,000 cars a year to 200,000.
Behind this bolstered confidence in EV industry in the Bay Area are the matured and leading supporting chains of its upstream industries, including lithium-ion battery, battery recycle, electric motor and auto-charging facilities.
According to Qichacha, a corporate registry search platform, Guangdong now has the highest number of companies related to the lithium-ion battery, with over 16,400 relevant companies based in the province, taking up over 43.6 percent of the total 37,600 such companies in the whole country.
Among them are leading lithium-ion battery players including BYD, Huizhou EVE Energy Co, and Guangzhou Great Power Energy & Technology Co Ltd, a leading global supplier of portable power.
In February last year, the leading Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited, the world’s biggest EV battery maker, unveiled a plan to build its production base in Zhaoqing, which further powered up the region to become a leading player in EV industry.
Many other industries also benefited from the burgeoning new energy vehicle industry, including the recycling of battery cells and battery station that could recharge and swap battery of two-wheel vehicles as well.
China, which has been lavishing subsidies and offering generous policy supports, has a commanding lead in the race of the EV. That could certainly drive the nation forward in its ride to go carbon neutral by 2060.
Another advantage for the region to develop EV is the easy access to capital and fully-fledged financial services that could sponsor startup funds all the way to initial public offering.
Though Hong Kong may not seem to be relevant in the rise of the billion-dollar industry, it is very much pertinent. It can leverage its advantage in financial services and widely recognized law system to help the emerging industries gain better foothold in the overseas markets and make significant headway into the Western markets.
To maintain the lead, China must be the standard-setter in technologies supporting the new energy industry, even on things that may seem trivial, like chemicals for battery production, energy storage parts and unified charging plugs. Hong Kong’s strength in basic research and R&D could also be given full play in the race. It’s true that the pandemic has frozen many economies, but it is too soon to “lay flat” when other places are ramping up efforts to take the lead.
With the whole world going greener to fight global warming, it is inevitable for carbon-emitting automobiles to switch to clean energy. The EV industry, with strong momentum, is still in its infancy and anyone’s game.
Shadow Li is a senior reporter and writes about cross-boundary issues ranging from social welfare, politics, youth and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Starting her journalism career as a reporter in 2011, she joined the China Daily Hong Kong in 2014. She can be reached at stushadow@chinadailyhk.com .
SHENZHEN – Sitting in the electric vehicle of a friend, I felt like sitting in a front-row seat of a warm home theater in the cold winter. Preinstalled streaming video apps played the latest screened movies at a touch. Trendy music echoed in the soundproof vehicle. Not to mention the voice wake-up and recognition system that could tell the car where to go, play your favorite song or lower the volume by simply asking. I thought it indeed gives us more reason to stay at our comfortable zone in the car instead of going home or the cinema under the pandemic.