Elon Musk has said that robotaxis are the company’s future, but most revenue still comes from cars.
China wants to dominate the market for the cars of the future, and it has set its sights on Brazil’s giant auto market.
The Chinese government is taking steps to rein in what it calls “involution,” or excessive competition that is hurting local companies and fueling the country’s deflationary spiral.
As the likes of Ford and Mercedes retreat, Great Wall Motor and BYD are building factories and bringing affordable EVs and hybrids to one of the world’s biggest markets.
Beijing will now require government licenses for any effort to transfer abroad the technologies crucial for producing inexpensive electric cars.
China’s national champion carmaker BYD embodies a state-led industrial model that America may no longer be able to compete with.
China’s lead in electric vehicle technology, which is already huge, could become insurmountable if incentive programs are slashed, auto experts and environmentalists say.
BYD and other companies doubled their share of the car market after the European Union imposed higher tariffs on electric vehicles from China.
Drivers in the country, Europe’s largest car market, are avoiding vehicles from Tesla, which has seen a drop in sales in other countries as well.
Despite steep tariffs, the Chinese carmaker leapfrogged Tesla in April, in what an analyst called a “watershed moment” for the continent’s auto market.