Chinese Electric Car Company
As the EV market finds its equilibrium and sales growth slows, Chinese makers are expanding rapidly. Li Auto’s affordable mid-sized One SUV has made the top 10 best-selling EVs in China since 2022.
SAIC’s MG electric models are popular in the UK, where they have a strong reputation for quality. The company’s flagship MG6 is expected to hit the market later this year.
Li Auto
Li Auto Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells smart electric vehicles. The company offers sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Its flagship model, the Li ONE, is a six-seat premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The ONE also includes advanced smart vehicle solutions. The company is based in China.
Li Xiang, founder of the company, holds a large stake in the firm and has 73 percent of voting power. He is a wealthy Chinese businessman who has invested in several technology companies. The company is focused on Electric Motorcycles the Chinese market, which is ferociously competitive. It is not the only player in the space, but it has been successful so far.
Unlike competitors like NIO and Xpeng, which specialize in pure electric cars, Li focuses on so-called extended range EVs. These vehicles use a gasoline-powered engine to charge the battery, compensating for China’s sparse EV charging infrastructure. The company has already sold around 10,000 of its cars since it started shipping in late 2019.
Li Auto is expected to release its autonomous driving system, the Li AD Max 3.0, for beta testing in 2023. The system will be able to function without high-precision maps, and it will be able to perceive, decide, and plan in real time just like a human driver. The company will also build 100 high-speed charging stations nationwide by the end of 2023.
GAC Aion
GAC is a major supplier of electric drive systems and batteries. It has been expanding its manufacturing capabilities for EV components as it works to add value to its own products and expand its business in the global market. GAC Aion is a new brand that focuses on electric vehicles, including SUVs and sports cars. The company’s flagship model, the Hyper SSR, is a fastback that can accelerate to 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds. It features gullwing doors and a 900V platform.
While GAC doesn’t have the name recognition of Li Auto, XPeng, or NIO, it has gained momentum over the past year. The company has been a top-three player in the Chinese EV market for passenger vehicles, according to industry sources.
Founded in 2017, GAC Aion specializes in the production of electric vehicles. Its EVs include the Aion LX Plus, which is capable of driving over 1000 kilometers on a charge. The vehicle was recently certified by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, marking the first time a mid-sized EV has achieved such an impressive range.
GAC Aion also produces the Aion Y and S, which have sold more than 271,000 units in 2022. These models are aimed at younger drivers who want to avoid the high prices of luxury sedans. They are priced between 119,800 and 153,800 yuan.
Changan
Changan is a long-established Chinese carmaker and one of the country’s Big Four. Although you don’t hear much about its electric cars compared to those from startups like Nio and Xpeng, it does have some impressive offerings. One of them is the Shenlan SL03, an all-electric SUV that can compete with models from bigger players such as Tesla and BYD.
The Shenlan SL03 is built on the company’s EPA1 platform, which can support various powertrain options from hydrogen fuel cell to battery electric vehicles. Its base model costs less than the $25,000 Tesla Model 3 and is also available with a range extender and a hydrogen fuel cell variant.
In 2010, Changan joined forces with French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen to create a joint venture named CAPSA, which is responsible for producing a range of electric car makers passenger and light commercial vehicles in China. Currently, Changan produces Peugeot-badged cars under the DS name in China.
In 2022, Changan will launch a new brand called Avatr to focus on electric vehicles. Its first model is a crossover with an all-electric driving range of 700 kilometers and a top speed of 300 km/h. The Avatr will use a proprietary operating system and autonomous driving solutions from Huawei, which is a major supplier of these technologies to Changan. The Avatr will be the third brand to adopt Huawei’s operating systems after Arcfox and Seres.
Hozon Auto
Hozon Auto is a Chinese electric car maker that has carved out a niche for itself by offering vehicles that are much cheaper than competing models. As a result, the company is rapidly expanding abroad, causing concern among competitors who fear that China will eventually dominate the global market for green cars.
The company has a partnership with the mobile phone manufacturer Huawei to develop infotainment systems for its cars, and is also working on a self-developed digital electric vehicle platform. It will use the Huawei technology in its upcoming all-electric Neta S model, which is due to be released later this year.
This is the first time that Huawei will collaborate with a car manufacturer for its intelligent driving systems. The companies are expected to work together on in-vehicle visual perception technologies, platform construction, and autonomous driving data analysis.
Founded in 2014, the company has four different models in its portfolio. The Neta U and Neta V SUVs, the Neta S sedan, and the Neta GT two-door roadster. The brand is based in Shanghai and has R&D centres in Jiaxing, Beijing Sinohytec, Turin, and Stuttgart. It also has an Autonomous Research Center in Silicon Valley.
It feels like every day a new electric car company pops up in China. Some disappear the next day, but others are able to stay around long enough to produce a car. Hozon is one of these companies and they are hoping that their Nezha E coupe will convince the world that they are not just another run of the mill EV manufacture.