Electric vehicle (EV) production growth in China has slowed over the second half of this year, dropping more quickly than the market expected, Houshan Bai, chairman of Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co, told delegates at a nickel and cobalt conference on Tuesday November 5.
In the first six months, EV sales and production in China had been in a healthy upturn, but slower growth started to emerge in July, Bai said during a panel discussion at Antaike's Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang, China's Hebei province. Chinese EV production and sales in June rose by 56.3% and 80% year on year respectively. Growth rates for both dropped to 29.9% and 34.2% in September compared with the same period last year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). "China has targeted to produce 1.7 million electric vehicles [this year], however, the...