OVER the past decade, electric vehicles (EVs) have been picking up steam and charging a path towards the mainstream. In fact, the world’s top carmakers are said to be planning to spend nearly US$1.2 trillion through 2030 to develop and produce millions of EVs.

Industry experts expect that EVs will make up about 60 to 80 per cent of all new car sales by 2050. This magnitude means that most carmakers – and countries – will not be able to ignore this fast-growing phenomenon. And for those looking to join this exciting ride, there is much to learn from China.

The nation is already the world’s biggest market for EVs based on annual sales volumes. They are also ahead of the game when it comes to infrastructure. BloombergNEF’s Zero-Emission Vehicles Factbook 2022 calculated that cumulative investment in EV charging hardware and installation would have reached US$62 billion at the end of 2022, of which 61 per cent is attributed to the more than 600,000 public chargers built in China.