Chinese Electric car brands are the world’s largest automobile market.
Its government has ambitious intentions to make the country a global leader in electric vehicle development, deployment, and sales.
More than 60 electric car models are currently on the market or have been promised by Chinese entrepreneurs.
Others are brand-new companies explicitly formed to develop and sell “New Energy Vehicles,” as zero-emission cars are known.
Some come from established domestic or joint-venture manufacturers, while others are brand-new companies explicitly formed to develop and sell “New Energy Vehicles,” as zero-emission cars are known.
Because China purchased more electric vehicles than the rest of the world combined last year, any electric-car company must concentrate on the Chinese market.
And most, Chinese or not, have capital, offices, executives, or other operations in China.
To focus on the most high-profile startups—and analyze their chances of success.
We’ve established a flexible definition of what makes a company “Chinese” for this piece.
Listed below are the Chinese Electric Car brands;
1. Byton
Byton is one of the Chinese manufacturers closest to the market, having been cofounded by BMW executive Carsten Breitfeld.
It has presented its M-Byte electric SUV in increasingly polished variants at car exhibitions worldwide.
It plans to begin production with 72- and 95-kWh battery options by this year. In 2021 or later, a K-Byte premium vehicle will be released.
Additionally, Byton describes itself as “more Apple than Tesla,” focusing on tight integration of each user’s data and digital life with the vehicle.
A 48-inch display covers the length of the cockpit below the windshield.
It displays all types of information for both the driver and the passenger. There is a touchscreen for driver controls on the steering hub.
2. BYD
BYD Auto, or Build Your Dreams (byàd), is one of the top Chinese electric car brands, a multinational business. It has offices in Shenzhen and downtown Los Angeles.
It was founded in 1995 as a rechargeable battery company in the IT sector before expanding into phone electronics and automobiles, including electric vehicles.
Additionally, BYD became the most prominent Chinese battery manufacturer in a decade, seizing half of the global mobile-phone battery market.
Tsinghua Automobile, China’s sixth-largest automobile manufacturer by sales volume, was acquired in 2002, giving birth to the company’s electric vehicle division.
BYD provides other EV manufacturers, notably the state-owned FAW Group, and its own EVs.
In addition, Berkshire Hathaway, which Warren Buffett owns, owns 8% of BYD. BYD and Toyota Motors established a joint venture in April 2020 called BYD Toyota EV Technology.
3. Faraday Future (Aka FF)
In media coverage, several automakers are labeled as “perennially problematic.” Faraday Future, which prefers to be known as FF, is the only EV business that deserves that moniker.
The company made a splashy debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
They announced plans to build a billion-dollar factory outside Las Vegas and debuted its FF91 luxury electric crossover the following year.
Additionally, It is Co-founded by billionaire Chinese online entrepreneur and LeEco CEO Jia Yueting.
The company made a splashy debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It also announced plans to build a billion-dollar factory outside Las Vegas and debuted its FF91 luxury electric crossover the following year.
4. SAIC
SAIC Motor (shàngq jtuán) is China’s most significant traditional automobile manufacturer.
With origins reaching back to the 1940s and a headquarters in Shanghai, it has recently made a systematic move from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles.
Because of long-standing joint ventures with foreign manufacturers that have recently achieved success in the area, SAIC has a significant presence in China’s electric vehicle industry.
Furthermore, SAIC-Volkswagen and SAIC-GM-Wuling are two of them. SAIC has also teamed up with Alibaba to form Zhiji, an all-electric vehicle brand.
5. Nio
NIO, one of the Chinese electric car brands, has been publicly traded since September 2018.
Still, other IPOs by other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, such as Li Automotive (NASDAQ: LI) and Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), have piqued investor interest.
Furthermore, NIO delivered 6,131 vehicles in February, decreasing 9.9% year over year due to supply chain difficulties.
More than 182,000 ES8, ES6, and EC6 cars have been given, and the business is gearing up to start sales of the ET7 sedan in early 2022.
Additionally, NIO is aiming for the Chinese electric SUV market, where it will face off against Tesla’s Model Y crossover SUV.
The ET7 will be the company’s first car, competing in China with Tesla’s Model 3 and expanding the company’s product portfolio.
6. Polestar
It’s a new company that promises to release multiple models. The first will be a limited-edition plug-in hybrid performance coupe, followed by a line of battery-electric vehicles offered worldwide. Geely, a Chinese automaker, is funding it.
However, Polestar isn’t your typical EV company because Geely also owns Volvo. Furthermore, Volvo was purchased by a Chinese corporation in 2010.
And it was given cash to create a new engine and two-vehicle platforms and refresh its complete model lineup. Then Geely took a seat.
Additionally, the results, which began in 2015, have been warmly praised, and Volvo’s global sales are on the rise. Consider Polestar to be Volvo’s hot-rod spinoff, similar to Mercedes-AMG.
7. Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV)
Former Alibaba CEO and namesake Hé Xiopéng started the innovative EV startup Xpeng (xiopéng) in August 2014.
Guangzhou is the company’s headquarters, with an office in Mountain View, California.
Former employees of Guangzhou Auto, a leading Chinese automaker, Ford, BMW, and Tesla, make up the senior management team.
Furthermore, Xpeng has attracted personnel from various well-known IT firms, including Xiaomi, Tencent, Samsung, and Huawei, along with Alibaba, which owns a 14 percent share in the company.
Their knowledge has helped Xpeng compete in the field of innovative car technology.
The startup closed a $400 million Series C financing round on November 13, 2019, with Xiaomi and the company’s founder, He, as investors.
On April 13, 2021, the business revealed that it was exploring producing its chips.
Currently, the business buys chips from Nvidia for autonomous driving and Qualcomm for its in-car digital cockpit for its P5 model, which will debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 21.
8. Seres (Née SF Motors)
This company has a tangled history, and we doubt it will sell electric automobiles in the United States anytime soon.
It began as InEVit, an electric vehicle battery technology business cofounded by Martin Eberhard, one of the original Tesla founders.
In 2017, it was purchased by Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, a prominent Chinese truck manufacturer, and was renamed SF Motors.
Furthermore, when the SF5 electric crossover went on sale in China in April, the business renamed itself Seres.
It had introduced that compact SUV, and a larger one designated the SF7 under its previous brand a year ago.
Additionally, the top model of the SF5 is claimed to have up to 510 kilowatts and a 0-to-62-mph timing of fewer than 3.5 seconds.
9. Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI)
Li Auto (lying) is an intelligent EV company based in Beijing created in 2015. Its previous name, CHJ Automotive, also knows the company.
Meituan, one of China’s leading eCommerce and consumer services apps, and ByteDance, the owner of the short-video app TikTok, are both investors in the six-year-old firm.
Furthermore, Li Auto, unlike most other EV manufacturers, focuses on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), which may run on gasoline or electricity. In 2019, the firm began selling its first model.
In June 2019, Meituan CEO Wáng Xing invested $300 million in the startup, and ByteDance contributed $30 million.
Li Auto raised $1.1 billion in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq on July 30, 2020, valuing the company at $10 billion.
10. Great Wall Motor
Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. (GWM) is a privately-held Chinese car brand based in Baoding, Hebei.
It was founded in 1984 and is now China’s sixth largest automobile manufacturer, with 1.281 million vehicles sold in 2021.
GWM, Haval, WEY, TANK, POER, and ORA are some of the brands that the company makes and sells.
It also makes electric vehicles under the names of some of the previously mentioned brands and dedicated EV brands like ORA.
Additionally, the firm is China’s largest maker of sport-utility cars (SUVs) and pick-up trucks and is named after the Great Wall of China.
Furthermore, It was the third-largest Chinese plug-in electric vehicle manufacturer in the Chinese market in 2021, with a 4% market share, selling under the Ora and Haval brands.
11. GAC Group
GAC Group (Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp., Ltd.) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer based in Guangzhou, Guangdong.
It was founded in 1954 and is now China’s fifth-largest automobile manufacturer, with 2.144 million vehicles sold in 2021.
Furthermore, GAC-Toyota, GAC-Honda, GAC-FCA (Jeep), and GAC-Mitsubishi make and sell cars under their brands, such as Trumpchi, Aion, and Hyman.
As well as foreign-branded joint ventures such as GAC-Toyota, GAC-Honda, GAC-FCA (Jeep), and GAC-Mitsubishi.
However, it also makes electric vehicles under the names of some of the previously mentioned brands and specialist EV brands like Aion and Hyman.
12. Weltmeister
WM Motor Technology is a Shanghai-based intelligent electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer that sells under the Weltmeister name.
However, it was founded in 2015, and its first production automobile, the EX5, was released in May 2018.
It was followed by the shipment of its first electric vehicle in September of that year.
WM’s investors are Chinese digital titans Baidu and Tencent, Sequoia Capital, and government-backed investment groups.
WM Motor has R&D centers in China, Germany, and the United States.
Furthermore, Freeman Shen (Shen Hu), the founder of WM Motor, is a former Geely executive and the chairman of Geely-owned Volvo’s China operations.
Before joining WM, Shen cofounded and led Patio Group, a car connectivity and telematics firm.
13. Geely (SEHK)
Geely (LJ), or Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is one of China’s top traditional automakers, but it has only lately begun transitioning to electric vehicles.
L Shf, a Chinese billionaire, owns the corporation privately. Geely operates across the automotive value chain, from research and development to manufacturing, sales, and service.
Furthermore, aside from automobiles, Geely also works in education, motorsports, and tourism.
Again, in 2010, Geely purchased the Volvo brand from Ford. Geely has a slew of electric vehicle-related companies.
For example, Volvo, Geometry, Lynk & Co, and Zeek displayed electric vehicles at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2021.
14. Zhuji (SAIC -ALIBABA)
Zhuji Auto (the) was created in December 2020 as a joint venture between SAIC, China’s largest automaker, and Alibaba, the world’s largest internet company.
In November 2020, the company was spun off from a $1 billion fund sponsored by SAIC, Zhangjiang High-Tech, and Hengxu Capital to collaborate with Alibaba on “high-end smart electric vehicle projects.”
Zhuji unveiled its first electric vehicle, the “IM-Zhiji,” on January 13, 2021. Furthermore, the business’s first deliveries were expected in 2022.
15. Dongfeng Motor Corporation
Next on our list of Chinese electric car brands is the Dongfeng Motor Corporation. The Chinese state-owned automaker Dongfeng Motor Corporation (Dongfeng) is headquartered in Wuhan.
It was founded in 2001 and, along with SAIC, FAW, and Changan Automobile, is one of China’s “Big Four” manufacturers, producing trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles. And also provides auto financing and related services.
Furthermore, Dongfeng has 13 companies under its brand and joint ventures with numerous foreign automakers such as Honda, Renault, Nissan, and Peugeot-Citroën.
Additionally, Skip is Dongfeng’s only pure electric sub-brand, and it presently has three models.
16. Chery Automobile
Chery Automobile (qru) is a state-owned automobile manufacturer based in Anhui, China.
It is a Chinese automaker that primarily produces gas-powered cars, minivans, and SUVs. It was founded in 1997.
However, after BYD, it was the second Chinese automaker to shift to electric vehicles, releasing its debut model in the early 2000s.
By 2011, it had made significant investments in the industry and now has ten fully electric vehicles.
Additionally, Chery is also China’s leading auto exporter, and unlike its other state-owned rivals, it does not have any established western manufacturers as joint venture partners.
17. Airways
Always Automobile (“Airways”) was founded in Shanghai in 2017 by Gary Gu and former Volvo China CEO Samuel Fu.
It is a 100% EV manufacturer with great plans and big supporters (around 7 billion yuan or $1.1 billion).
Following the launch of its first model in 2019, Airways expects to tenfold its sales year over year in 2021, with 10,000 expected shipments this year.
Airways has plenty of room to grow, with a current production capacity of 150,000 units that can be increased to 300,000 units in the future.
Furthermore, Airways is also the first Chinese startup to bring an electric vehicle to Europe.
Again, Airways is finding success across the continent and at home, with orders flowing out to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Israel.
Additionally, Airways President Fu Qiang has verified rumors that the company plans to go public on the Shanghai STAR market in the second half of 2021, with a valuation of roughly $2 billion.
It is also one of the top Chinese Electric car brands.
18. Human Horizons
Human Horizons (huárén yùntng) was founded in 2017 by former Shanghai General Motors President Ding Li.
They began distributing their electric, 5G-equipped “HiPhi” vehicles on May 8, 2021.
Furthermore, Human Horizons is gearing up for a breakout with 80 storefronts open across China and collaborations with the state electrical grid to have 150,000 charging stations across 300 cities.
Additionally, the company’s HiFi series’ expensive price tag ($90,000 – $125,000) remains to be seen whether it can attract buyers.
Furthermore, HiFi cars are not short on bells and frills, with leather interiors and a seat massage.
The series’ virtually automated production and quality control procedure should earn some bonus durability points in buyers’ views.
19. Avatar Technology
Chongqing Chang’an Automobile has a subsidiary called Avatar Technology (wéit).
It began operations in 2018 as Chang’an NIO, a joint venture between Changan and NIO, but was renamed Avatar after it became self-sufficient.
Major corporation’s back avatar: CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, is the company’s second-largest shareholder, and Huawei is also a shareholder.
Additionally, Huawei software, the intelligent electric vehicle platform (CHN), and CATL batteries power Avatar.
Further, Avatar went public on the Chongqing Assets Equity Exchange in August 2021, and the brand received a $378 million investment from CATL in November.
Furthermore, the company’s first vehicle, the Avatar 11, is an all-electric medium-sized SUV coupe, and it expects to introduce four new versions over the next five years.
20. Singulato
Last on our list of top Chinese Electric car brands is the singulation car brand. Singulato Motors, or Zhiche Youxing Technology Co., Ltd. (young KJ).
It was launched in December 2014 as an electric car startup and initially showed promise, raising over 18 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in 11 rounds of funding.
Singulato Motors has struggled to complete the production process and get cars to consumers after announcing the construction of a mass-production plant in Tongling in 2016.
And another large plant in Suzhou 2018 released an EV prototype, the iS6, in May 2018 at the Beijing Motor Show.
It was virtually completely forgotten about for numerous years.
Singulato was recently in the news again in June 2021 when Chinese authorities banned Singulato founder Shen Hiyn from “high-level consumption.”
Furthermore, the company appeared embroiled in multiple contract disputes and could not comply with several judicial verdicts against it.
What was once a promising EV startup seems to be on its last legs, at least for now.
