Starting around 2010, China introduced a series of electric
vehicle subsidies aimed at greatly improving the adoption of EVs
throughout the country. The generous subsidies, which are
provided by both the central and local governments, amount to RMB
66,000, which is approximately $10,000. The subsidies have
had immense success over the past decade, with exponential sales
growth leading to 770,000 EV sales in 2017.
However, with EV sales expected to continue growing, so too does
the total cost of the subsidy. 2017 subsidies amounted to
approximately $7.7 billion and are expected to more than double by
2020 and increase tenfold by 2025.
However, these enormous EV sales numbers are a bit
misleading. While names, such as NIO and Byton are recognized
by those in the industry as potentially formidable global EV
manufacturers, the bulk of EV sales in China are two-seater EV microcars with limited
range. These current vehicles may provide great access to
vehicles for
