The Shanghai auto show, the largest in China since before the pandemic, had one theme: The dominance of electric vehicles in the world’s largest car market is here to stay.
China is far ahead of the rest of the world in the development of batteries that use sodium, which are starting to compete with ubiquitous lithium power cells.
An unexpected decline in the price of an essential battery material, along with those of other commodities, is good news for buyers. But experts disagree on how long low prices will last.
Ford’s $3.5 billion plant in Michigan will draw on technology from CATL, a Chinese company that is the world’s No. 1 maker of electric-car batteries.
Beijing gave CATL lavish subsidies, a captive market of buyers and soft regulatory treatment, helping it to control a crucial technology of the future.