The benefits of making electric cars for Australia in China

The best-selling electric cars all have one thing in common: they’re all made in China.

The Tesla Model 3 And Model Y Made in Shanghai, BYD Atto 3 made in Changzhou, the MG ZS EV made in Zhengzhou, and pole star 2 And Volvo XC40/C40 Made in Chengdu.

That trend shows no signs of slowing down. BMW is building iX3 in China and that’s where our next-generation Mini will be made, while Chinese brands Chery and GWM are gearing up to bring their first electric cars under.

It was not an accident. Talk to auto expert, LDV Australia general manager Dinesh Chinnappa explained what he sees as benefits of sourcing electric cars from China in the truck and minibus scene.

“I think LDV is uniquely positioned to move towards commercial electrification. Why? Because they are a subsidiary of SAIC, a giant automobile manufacturing group based in China,” Mr. Chinnappa said. CarExpert.

“The simple fact is that China started its electrification journey 15, 20 years ago.

“The government has made a very wise and correct decision that they will use renewable energy in general as an alternative energy source for their cities, and they have also made a very balanced decision. reminded that they would invest billions of dollars in the electrification of public and private transport.

“They made those investments and started that process at least 15 years ago, maybe 20 years ago.

“Therefore, I believe that China when it comes to the production of electric passenger cars and/or electric commercial vehicles, has completely surpassed the existing automobile status quo.”

China is a source of fast tanks for Australia. 16% of vehicles delivered so far in 2023 come from China, second only to Japan (27%) and Thailand (21%) in our list of market suppliers.

At the same time in 2022, it accounts for 9% of all deliveries.

While electric vehicles make up a large portion of Chinese-made vehicles sold in Australia, the growth in sales of internal combustion vehicles by MG, GWM and Volvo has also been a driver.

Volvo in particular has been vocal about the benefits it has received since moving from Sweden to China as a supplier of Australian-delivered vehicles.

“If you buy a car from Europe, it stays on the boat for at least six weeks,” Volvo Australia CEO Stephen Connor told the media in 2022.

“We also pay tax on cars coming from Europe, so there is that problem. Unfortunately, whenever you pay taxes someone has to pay for it somewhere, so car prices often go up because of taxes,” he said.

“Another thing is that we have brand new factories that can make better cars and more cars from China.

“They are brand new, they are only three years old. Don’t get me wrong, Gothenburg is beautiful but it’s an old factory. Therefore, China’s capacity is much larger than somewhere like Gothenburg,” he explained.

“Then you add, China generally you can get the cars in two, two and a half weeks from production,” he said.

Volvo has relied heavily on its Chinese factory for ample supplies as it ramps up sales in Australia, and Mr Chinnappa said LDV is likely to do the same.

“If I need to order 100 eT60 utes tomorrow or 100 eDeliver 9 trucks tomorrow, I am very, very, very confident that I can get that stock here in a relatively short time. ,” he say CarExpert. “They have capacity.”

Also helpful is the fact that Chinese brands, including LDV, see Australia as what Mr Chinnappa describes as a “key strategic market”.

“It’s not just about our volume, but also about the nature of our market. The fact is that we are a mature market, strictly regulated, up to the high quality standard, ANCAP. They really see the Australian market as a place where they can develop the necessary infrastructure at the corporate level to hit the global market,” he said.