Is China’s EV boom an opportunity or challenge for...

Is China’s EV boom an opportunity or challenge for Europe?

Electric vehicles have become a defining force in China’s manufacturing success and a key driver of its global technology exports. As the industry evolves, China continues to push the boundaries of innovation, solidifying its position as a leader in the EV revolution. With the country’s biggest annual political event in full swing, the future of the EV sector is a major talking point among policymakers and industry leaders. What strategies are shaping China’s next phase of growth? And how do these developments align with Europe’s ambitions for a greener future? In this episode of Deep Dive, I’m joined by CGTN Europe reporter Jen Copestake, who brings firsthand insights from the ongoing Two Sessions. Together, we’ll explore the shared goals driving collaboration between Chinese and European automakers and what this means for the future of global mobility.

Audio link: https://radio.cgtn.com/podcast/news/5/Chinas-EV-boom-opportunity-or-challenge-for-Europe/2714938

Li Yunqi: I learned that you got a chance to visit factory of Chinese EVs in Guangzhou and how did it feel like to get a peek of how these Chinese EVs are made from scratch?

Jen Copestake: It was really incredible, because we went to the GAC factory in Guangzhou. At the time when I arrived there, I didn't actually realize that this was one of the lighthouse factories and I think it's one of the most significant EV factories potentially in China, maybe even in the world. As far as their terms of how they're incorporating digital technology, sort of automation, high tech advancements, and also green technology. I think the roof of this place had over 80,000 square meters solar panels that are providing up to 15% of the electricity of the plant, which is really incredible. And I think what strikes me is the second Chinese manufacturing plant I've seen for electric vehicles. The first one was Leapmotor’s factory in Jinhua, which also was very nice. These are beautiful factories, very quiet, clean, and so impressive to see these cars coming off the manufacturing line, the production line so quickly. I think the GAC AION factory, the finishing process for the car is something like 53 seconds. And they have this flexible production line so that they can manufacture different types of cars on the same line. And I think they said there was something like 100 thousand different selections that the customer could make for each car using 20 different criteria. There are over 100 colors that could make. And I think watching how some of the robots were putting in. I think me and my cameraman stood for 10 to 15 minutes watching these seats being put into the car. There didn't seem to be any kind of human involvement at all. They just clipped into place and the chassis of the car had the battery in there. So I think watching how the companies have these incredible complexes, it’s not just the production line. They have the R&D center on site. They're developing advanced battery technology right there that can then be just kind of delivered into the production line to the cars directly. Guangzhou is a port city and so the cars can be delivered to, I guess all over China, all over the world very quickly. The whole supply chain and the industry chain are packed so tightly together that it's very efficient. And I think that factory can run 20 hours a day, they have break times for the workers and things like that.

Li Yunqi: Yeah, the views in the factory already sounds so interesting that they might be able to consider making tourism out of it.

Jen Copestake: Yeah, I think you're right because one other thing that we try there, they have a showroom with different cars. The GAC AION cars and AION is the electric brand of GAC, which is more of a legacy car maker in China. I suppose it’s been operating for 30 years. But AION also has this super car that we got to drive in that I think goes from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 1.9 seconds. The test track was really wet on that day, so we didn't actually get to do that, but I was kind of happy about that. So I was a little bit scared, but it also has cars that have autonomous driving capabilities so that you can take those out for a test drive on the road on the actual highway with autonomous driving. I think tourism there could be a really good thing, but also just for other manufacturers around the world and particularly with European legacy car brands maybe to come and see how the production process works and think of it all over their factories. Because we spoke to their (GAC AION) head of marketing. He was telling us that this is something that they want to export. It's not just to keep here in China, but to export to the rest of the world. They have factories in Southeast Asia and they're planning to open one in Europe as far as their plans go there.

Li Yunqi: Are you focusing particularly on the EV discussions at this years’ Two Sessions? And have there been any topics that stood out to you?

Jen Copestake: I’m definitely focusing on some of the numbers that have come out about the EVs. We heard about 13 million electric vehicles, and these new electric vehicles are being purchased from China for the first time. I think what's been fascinating is also the discussions on artificial intelligence because artificial intelligence will touch into the EV space. But we've been visiting also robotics companies in Shenzhen and looking at their humanoid robot that's been walking around town, and they're selling this robot for U.S.$15,000. I'm about 5 foot 3, so this one is a bit smaller than other models that they have and that they're developing. They are about 6 feet tall. But it's just quite remarkable because this artificial intelligence, all the breakthroughs that are happening in China with DeepSeek, and it seems to be exploding. And that's also been a focus on the Two Sessions. And I think for me, it's just learning more about what will happen ethically as well and in regulatory frameworks from China's perspective and where that's going to fit into discussions with other companies around the world and other countries around the world. And China is really at the heart of these discussions. And I think hearing about that, the support for young entrepreneurs, the support for the private sector and the tech sector in the Two Sessions and in the work report, to me is really key. And I think the world needs to get involved and pay attention to these developments here in China and really work together on what are going to be fundamental changes in humanity. And I think it's also fascinating. This hasn't really been discussed, but yet that I've heard. But thinking about the future of the world, I was lucky to chair a panel a few years ago at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin about the future of the world and about what would happen if we reached kind of 50 % unemployment at one day, not saying that's going to happen, but it's just interesting to hear about what do we do for urban unemployment and employment opportunities for youth employment? And how do we sort of re-look at society and how AI is going to fit into the way that we work and how it's going to enhance our work and help us, but also where it may create some difficulties in employment. But that's some key areas that I'm listening out for.

Li Yunqi: The progress of automation and the artificial intelligence, that's definitely one topic to be concerned about. But on top of applying these technologies onto their electric vehicles, the Chinese EV companies, they have been expanding their presence worldwide and also definitely in the European market. And how do you think Chinese EVs are perceived in Europe in terms of their quality, the technology they apply, and especially the brand values compared to their European counterparts that are made locally in Europe?

Jen Copestake: I think it's really changing a lot. And I think one thing I'll tell you is I remember maybe 8 months ago, I was in a taxi in an Uber in London. I had this discussion with the driver. I was saying that I'm about to make a documentary about electric vehicles in China. And I was talking about BYD and he was talking about BYD. And he didn't know that's a Chinese company. He was just saying how brilliant they are. I said that company is a Chinese company and he's like no, it's not a Chinese company. I said I promise you this is a Chinese company. It took some convincing, I had to actually show him on the internet and go to the company's website and he was really blown away. I've changed his world view. No, that's good. And I think I've been very lucky to test drive, quite a few Chinese EVs now and I test drove particularly Leapmotor, their new SUV. And then they also have a smaller car that they were kind of marketing to Europe and that was in Italy. So I got to take both of these cars for a good 2 or 3 hours each around lakes in northern Italy. It's a real eye-opening experience for me. It was my first time actually driving an electric car and to experience some of the features inside the cars. For me, it was really eye opening and you realize the price comparison with some of other electric cars on the market in Europe. It's extremely competitive and then it was fascinating going to Hangzhou. And I got to test drive a smaller Leapmotor car that was the same kind of as the one in Europe, but it was more targeted to the Chinese market and that there were just even some more differences there and more luxurious kind of elements and customization that were available here for the Chinese market. And I think that the cars being built around the battery technology like having companies that have grown up from being battery manufacturers or specializing in that kind of technology just leave so much scope for the design of the car to be really customizable. I've seen cars that make full beds, all camping kind of situations. We got to go to Xpeng and see one of their vehicles that, for lack of a better description, looks similar to a Tesla kind of Cybertruck design. But in the back, you have a quadcopter, like that you can fly out of your car, which is an incredible concept. I could really see that could be a really good use case and a really fun thing to do and a safe thing to do because I was worried maybe about safety, but this low-altitude economy also which has come up in the Two Sessions and is really also something that China is ahead, as far as I know in the world in this area. Even people in London are asking me about drone deliveries. And does that really exist and getting a coffee delivered by drone and all this sort of stuff that you can't really imagine? And then it's happening. So I really fully believe that people will be flying these machines out of their cars one day and going for a pleasure flight and coming back. It feels much safer and more realistic than I ever thought possible.

Li Yunqi: Do you think the Chinese EV makers, when they enter the European market, do they think they are tailoring their strategy, their car design to the unique and different consumer preferences in the European market?

Jen Copestake: I think so, because I think Leapmotor, for example, I don't think they're tailoring the one, the SUV particularly necessarily to certain parts of Europe. They're looking more at the smaller city cars. Both cars were very maneuverable, even in the mountains, in northern Italy. I have to say even the bigger SUV, but the small car was really easy to drive, it’s really maneuverable on the roads, very quick and very easy to get around. And I think that's a good strategy. We spoke to people from places like Mercedes and Volkswagen when we were in Germany filming. And I think for them, they are also welcoming Chinese electric vehicles. There is some disconnection on the tariff situation with Europe because I think some legacy car makers see now the Chinese car makers as something that they want to compete with and they want to have that opportunity to also improve themselves by looking at the design of some of these Chinese electric cars. They also think it's not necessarily fair to have the tariff situation. They'd rather try and compete and catch up with what Chinese car brands are producing, which I found really interesting.

Li Yunqi: Chinese car brands have received quite different reactions from the policy makers and car companies in Europe. We have seen the tariffs from the policy makers. But at the same time, the car makers are establishing partnerships, collaboration with Chinese automakers. For example, the ones between Volkswagen and Xpeng motors, BMW and Great Wall Motor. And do you think there are some common goals or challenges that are bringing these car companies together despite perhaps more hostile attitude from the policy makers.

Jen Copestake: No, I think so. I think they're just being realistic like I think they need to work together or they just can't compete. So it's to me to survive in this market. I think and China has just gone ahead on so many different aspects of the technology and the designs and the way that the manufacturing is done, even the green sides of things and green manufacturing. And you just can't compete. And I think the best thing to do at the moment is to cooperate. And the companies that are doing that, I think are being realistic and more understanding of what's actually going on. Like I said in Germany, there are some companies that don't support the tariff situation. And I don't think the UK is imposing very strong tariffs on Chinese EVs. I think maybe it's 10 %. I just think this is a time for cooperation and being a bit more realistic about it.