This week on China Corner Office, Chris Marquis talks with China auto industry veteran Robert Yu. In Robert’s 30 plus years in the industry, he spent 20 years at Ford and also was Executive Director of GM China and Head of Manufacturing for EV pioneer NIO. Robert provides an insightful overview of the booming EV market in China where there are over 450 officially registered companies that sold about 3 million cars in 2021. For comparison in the US, 800,000 EVs were sold in 2021. We also discuss the different market segments, including the low end which includes EVs selling for $4,000, and the mid-market where offerings from NIO and Xpeng are exceptionally well-positioned globally and have recently begun entering the European market. Finally, we also discuss NIO’s unique outsourced manufacturing program and how it compares to traditional auto assembly.
A transcript of this conversation is available on TheChinaProject.com.
