China’s Vice President Han Zheng addressed the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Along with retreads of established Chinese positions on Taiwan, Ukraine, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, his comments also provided interesting clues about China’s messaging to the Global South.
First, he called on the international community to “follow the direction of a multipolar world” with the UN at its center. I wonder how opinion within Beijing’s inner circles breaks down around the bipolarity/multipolarity issue, considering ...
Category: Electric Vehicles
Vietnamese EV-Brand VinFast Hopes Possible EU Sanctions Against Chinese Electric Cars Will Give It an Opening
Vietnamese electric vehicle company Vinfast plans to ship its first batch of 3,000 VF8 crossovers to Europe later this year and the upstart EV brand may even get an assist from European Union trade authorities. Earlier this month, the European Commission ...
China’s Two-Pronged Auto Export Strategy: EVs to the North, Gas-Powered to the South
Analysts are forecasting Chinese automakers will ship 5 million vehicles this year, solidifying the country's position as the world's largest auto exporter. But there's a stark discrepancy in terms of what kind of cars go where, according to Michael Dunne, one ...
Chinese EV Makers Are Rushing to Set Up Operations in Thailand
Two of China's largest automakers, Changan and Geely, both announced new plans to set up manufacturing and sales operations in Thailand for their new line of electric vehicles. Geely's EV unit AION announced plans to build a $170 million factory in ...
Chinese EV Brands’ Push In Indonesia Intensifies. Can They Help Boost Slow Adoption?
The roads in Jakarta are looking a little different lately. At times, in the sea of black SUVs stuck in traffic, one can spot one or two tiny electric cars developed by Chinese electric vehicle maker Wuling. When one hops into a Blue Bird — the country’s ...
Abu Dhabi Places Big Bet on a Struggling Chinese EV Automaker
Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio was recently near bankruptcy but is now on the rebound, helped in part by a sizable investment from CYVN Holdings, a smart mobility-focused investment fund majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi government. CYVN announced on Tuesday that it ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Unpacking Han Zheng’s Messaging to the Global South at the UN General Assembly
Chinese Battery Major Gotion Poised to Build Africa’s First Gigafactory in Morocco
The Sino-German electric vehicle battery major Gotion High-Tech is planning to build a massive new factory in Morocco that would produce electric car batteries and energy storage systems. The company signed an MOU with the Moroccan government last week in Rabat for a ...
Q&A: Hong Kong Expertise Playing Pivotal Role in Transitioning Popular Motorbike Taxis in Kenya
A small group of entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and China is pioneering a new e-mobility business model in Kenya that aims to revolutionize the country’s ubiquitous motorbike taxis known as bodabodas. Tucked away in a garage in Nairobi’s Upperhill business district, ...
U.S. Signs MoU with DRC, Zambia for e-Vehicle Supply Chains
The governments of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to develop an electric vehicle supply chain in their countries. The exact details of the agreement are still unclear, but it likely ...
How China Became a Global E-Vehicle Leader
While Western automotive industries are trying to figure out how to decouple their supply chains from the Chinese battery sector, Chinese commentators don’t seem particularly panicked. In fact, the e-vehicle industry is being touted as a national victory. This becomes clear ...
Chinese Automakers Look to Developing Countries to Boost Sales and Production
The war in Ukraine opened new production opportunities for Chinese automakers in Central Asia, while growing demand in Latin America and South Asia for SUVs and EVs has sparked a new sales push in those regions by some of China's largest car brands: