Climate Basics Podcast Episode 9 notes

 Ep 9

China: How it Developed its Dominant EV and Solar Industries


Agenda to Ep 9:

  • Intro

    • In US, up until 7-10 yrs ago, the ICE vehicle industry produced about 14M cars annually, represented approx 3% GDP, 3% of workforce

      • In other countries - Japan, Germany, South Korea, China - it was as or more important to those countries

      • It’s changing - fast.

        • In 2000, China produced about 1M EVs

        • In 2024, China produced 12M EVs

        • Out of a global market of approx 100M cars manufactured annually

  • (switch) Segment: Good News (45-60 secs each)

  • EV Vehicles

    • History of car market - importance to traditional players

      • Chinese market emerged as biggest, as their per capita wealth grew

        • This market had JVs, so all the traditional players made money in the market, incl premium brands

    • How the Chinese planned to focus on EV

      • Transparent planning - 5 Yr Plans

      • Did they receive help from traditional ICE makers in setting up their EV systems?  From Tesla?

    • Their focus on vertical supply chain (mining, transport, refining)

    • Encouraging Internal Competition

      • Top-down target edicts, allowing for riskier low-interest loans








Intro - Explaining the dominant position of China’s EV Industry and Solar Industry





Global EV Outlook 2025 - p.32 below, beware differing scales of measurement

p.31

A total 17.3 million electric cars were produced worldwide in 2024, about one quarter more than in 2023, largely as a result of increased production in China, which reached 12.4 million electric cars. China remains the world’s electric car manufacturing hub, accounting for more than 70% of global production in 2024. Production in China has been increasingly shaped by the expansion of domestic manufacturers. In 2024, Chinese OEMs accounted for more than 80% of domestic production, up from roughly two-thirds in 2021. Despite the numerous recently announced foreign direct investment plans from Chinese OEMs, their overseas production has yet to ramp up. Electric car production by Chinese OEMs operating outside China accounted for less than 2% of their global output in 2024. 

In the world’s second-largest electric car manufacturing region, the European Union, production stagnated at 2.4 million cars in 2024, but surpassed domestic sales by more than 5%. 

  • Solar Industry

  • 2024 - nuclear 4%, renewables 15%









Miscellaneous links:


China’s rising influence on climate governance: Forging a path for the global South - ScienceDirect - 2022


China doesn’t want to lead alone on climate policies, senior adviser warns | Cop30 | The Guardian


Towards carbon neutrality and China's 14th Five-Year Plan: Clean energy transition, sustainable urban development, and investment priorities - ScienceDirect



China’s 15th “5 yr plan”:





  • Total renewables in China = 2,900 TWh (of which solar is 900 TWh)

  • There was a slowdown in solar installations from June-Sept2025, possible slowdown (or provinces rushing to meet fed goals before COP30)?

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