Looking ahead to 2025, the Chinese automotive market is poised to maintain good performance and make progress while ensuring stability, with a notable growth of about 30 percent in new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, according to the ChinaEV100 Forum on Monday.
ChinaEV100 serves as a third-party think tank aimed at boosting the development of EV industry. Its annual forum stands out as a key gathering for the industry.
It predicts that total vehicle sales in China will reach approximately 32 million units in 2025, with about 26 million units sold in the domestic market, reflecting a growth rate of 3 percent. In the NEV segment, total sales, including exports, are expected to hit 16.5 million units, with domestic demand anticipated to reach 15 million units, leading to a market penetration rate exceeding 55 percent.
Experts at the forum note that plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric vehicles will play a crucial role in driving sales growth in the NEV sector. Additionally, new-generation products, particularly solid-state batteries, are set to accelerate mass production.
"Semi-solid or quasi-solid batteries will gain a substantial market presence next year, and we anticipate that fully solid-state battery technology will begin small-scale deployment by 2027 or 2028," said Zhang Yongwei, secretary general of ChinaEV100.
Experts also predict a comprehensive acceleration in the intelligent transformation of NEVs in 2025, with smart cockpits and autonomous driving features becoming standard equipment. Artificial intelligence technology is poised to revolutionize the automotive industry, as large language models integrate into enterprise operations will propel smart manufacturing upgrades.
Furthermore, the year of 2025 is poised to be a pivotal one for the international expansion of China's NEVs, with Latin America, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Middle to be key overseas markets for Chinese EV makers to explore, according to the forum.
China has topped the global list for nine consecutive years in both NEV output and sales, contributing to over 60 percent of the world's NEV output and sales in 2023.
For the entirety of 2024, NEV sales are expected to exceed 13 million units, pushing the country's total auto sales to over 31 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
China's NEV sales projected to surge about 30 pct in 2025: ChinaEV100 Forum
China's NEV sales projected to surge about 30 pct in 2025: ChinaEV100 Forum
The universal "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States signals a decline in the U.S. economic dominance and dollar hegemony, as the country is attempting to extract excessive financial benefits from its trading partners, according to economists, who warn the Trump administration is playing a "dangerous game".
U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" before unveiling higher rates on certain trading partners. The policy sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and triggered panic on financial markets, with analysts warning of significant risks and dire economic consequences.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hong Hao, chief economist of the GROW Investment Group, a Shanghai-based hedge fund, said the tariffs reflect Trump's strategy to extract economic benefits from trading partners, particularly viewing China as a significant competitor. "Trump really believes that the trade terms with the trading partners have been unfair to the U.S., and as a result, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. Therefore, the U.S. is paying an excessive price for globalization, and now, it's time to pay back. I think, from this angle, he is trying to extract economic rent from its trading partners, and also he is trying to see China as one of the major U.S. rivals at this juncture. So, I think, as a result, he is playing a very dangerous game. And, as you can see, it's political theater in the sense that he is trying to dramatize the extreme pressure, so that he can get excessive rent from the opponent," he said
Trump's unilateral imposition of tariffs has eroded global confidence in the U.S. and its dollar's status, leading many to state that the American hegemony may not persist, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.
"The U.S. economy is at an inflection point. There is a moment where the previous strategies being used to sustain American hegemony were no longer working. And, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. position erodes, given the fact that it's been a house of cards built on the dollar supremacy. And a lot of people don't see that as having a brighter future. This has moved past the theater stage and has moved really directly into one in which no one really has confidence in the U.S. anymore. No one has confidence in the dollar. No one has confidence in the U.S. being committed to the multilateral system, to global trade and so forth and so on," he said.
Trump playing "dangerous game" as tariff measures signal decline in U.S. dollar hegemony: economists
