Chinese EV Companies Driving Carefully into EU Markets

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Electric car sales more than doubled in 2020 in the European Union, and are up by 130% for the first half of this year. That’s why electric auto manufacturers from China are looking to make inroads into Europe, where the European Union is pushing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

For one, China’s Nio Inc., a EUR 57b company, is set to launch an electric SUV in Norway today, while a handful of other Chinese companies are also poised to market their electric cars in European markets. Europe’s auto manufacturers are still mainly offering combustion-engine models, while their Chinese competitors oftentimes are concentrated solely on electric vehicles.

However, due to perceptions of low quality, some industry executives from China believe it could take up to a decade for Chinese car companies to establish a solid foothold on the continent, while potential European buyers will need to get beyond “buy local” sentiments before purchasing Chinese cars.

Source: Euractiv