For China’s auto market, electric isn’t the future. It’s the present

Zhang Youping, a Chinese retiree, purchased an all-electric, small SUV from BYD — China’s largest electric vehicle maker — at an auto show for around $20,000 last month. Her family has bought three gas-powered cars in the last decade, but she recently grew concerned about gas prices and decided to go electric “to save money.” A few months earlier, her son had also bought an EV. It was a $10,000 hatchback from Leapmotor, another Chinese manufacturer.

This year, one-quarter of all new cars purchased in China will be an all-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid. There are, by some estimates, more than 300 Chinese companies making EVs, ranging from discount offerings below $5,000 to high-end models that rival Tesla and German automakers.