Battery Innovation & Female Leadership in China's EV Sector
Sales of EVs in China increased by 10.5% in March this year, from March 2023, which has been attributed to discounts from BYD and initiatives such as overruling the minimum down payments for new-car purchases.
Throughout the first three months of 2024 1.03m electric vehicles were sold, a rise of 14.7% which is the slowest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2023, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
However, growth in China's battery storage is expected to slow down this year, due to the low profit of energy storage.
China’s battery innovations keep EVs on the road
China is expected to add 30.1GW of new energy storage, including that for lithium ion batteries, in 2024. This is down from 34.5GW in 2023 - but it is also said that China's new energy storage capacity installations will rise 19% year-on-year to 41.2GW, according to the China Energy Storage Alliance.
In addition to this, fellow Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO has just opened its Smart Driving Technology Center in Schönefeld, Germany. This is the first of its kind outside of China. NIO is known for developing battery swapping technology, which earned the company a spot in our Top 10: EV Tech Companies.
Battery swapping allows a driver to exchange their empty battery, with a fully charged one, to get them back on the road. China’s automotive technology leader Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with NIO regarding battery standards, battery swapping technology, battery swapping network expansion, swappable model development and also battery asset management.
In China, women lead in the electric vehicle sector
In the modern age, the world is reorganising its supply chains, while geopolitics bring new challenges. Across the electric vehicle sector, women are ensuring operations run smoothly.
In our Women in EV in APAC, we celebrated two women who are leading the way in China’s EV sector:
Li Hong Shuan, Great Wall Motors
In 2022, Li Hong Shuan joined the company as the Chief Financial Officer and Director. Before this, she worked at Baoding Great Wall Holdings, as the Assistant to the Head of Finance and Chief Financial Controller.
Wei Mei, Geely
Wei Mei is the Senior Vice President and COO of Geely Holding Group, as well as an Executive Director of Geely, which she joined in 2009. In her role, leads group operation management, digitalisation and IT-related business. Wei studied Master of Management in 1999 at Ocean University and received a Doctorate in Management from Northwest A&F University in 2006.
Read the full APAC list here.
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