China has one of the fastest growing electric vehicle markets in the world with an estimated 500 electric car makers having piled into the world's largest vehicle market. As the Chinese government prods indigenous innovation, home-grown brands such as Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, have sprouted to get a larger slice of the market under the Made in China 2025 industrial master plan.

1. How will China's tech giants shake up the world’s biggest auto market?

• The ultimate goal for next-generation cars is autonomous driving, because of which Internet of Things and artificial intelligence have assumed great importance.

• China could define the future of mobility, given the enormous amount of resources it is pouring into the EVs sector.

2. As Tesla, NIO, Xpeng and BYD battle for dominance in China, which electric car maker has the slickest fundraising machine?

• Xpeng and NIO have been the most active Chinese electric car companies in equity and debt capital markets since the stock rally started.

• The top 5 most prolific EV fundraisers have amassed about US$21 billion of fresh capital since January 2020.

3. Why are 500 electric car makers battling for China’s lucrative vehicle market?

• • Electric carmakers battle for buyers’ hearts and wallets in rural China. In rural China, inhabited by 40 per cent of the world’s largest population.

• • The Chinese government aims to turn the largest market for vehicles on the planet into a self-reliant powerhouse for the new technology under the Made in China 2025 industrial master plan.

• • The world is returning full circle to the electric car, as concerns about gaseous emissions and their impact on climate change compel global governments to find alternatives to petrol-guzzlers.

4. Do China's electric cars have the range to go the distance?

• The average budget among car buyers in rural China mostly clustered around 50,000 yuan, according to a May survey by China EV 100

• With that budget, they require a driving range of between 100 kilometres and up to 300 kilometres

5. Does China lead the electric car battery industry?

China controls 80 per cent of the world’s capacity for raw material refining, with the capacity to produce 77 per cent of worldwide battery cells and 60 per cent for components.

6. What does the perfect electric vehicle look like in China?

• Chinese car buyers, relative newcomers since 2000 when it comes to private ownership, are notoriously price sensitive and brand disloyal.

• That means NEVs will have to offer value for money, and provide a good, convincing case for buyers to eschew the time-tested internal combustion engine (ICE) for the new technology

7. Who is NIO and are they a true competitor to Tesla?

NIO, Xpeng and hundreds of Chinese EV start-ups are staking their claims with new models and technology. Tesla faces a rival with a record 621-mile range as NIO’s ET7 electric car raises the ante in world’s largest market.

• The Standard Edition of NIO’s ET7 electric car, with a price tag of 448,000 yuan (US$69,184) before subsidy, has a range of 500 kilometres using a 70 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack.

• The Premier Edition can go as far as 700km on a 100 kWh battery while the Extended Edition has a stated range of 1,000km using a 150 kWh battery.

8. What is the manufacturing edge among China's EV start-ups?

Chinese parts suppliers ride Tesla-powered electric-car boom.

• Contemporary Amperex has returned 424 per cent over the past 12 months, making it the eighth largest listed company in China by market value.

• Others in the Tesla ecosystem have seen less than stellar performances amid concerns about margins, analysts say.

9. How do China's EV start-ups get their capital?

Private-equity funds, venture capital and stock market listings.

10. Who are the Big Tech backers behind China's electric car start-ups?

NIO, Xpeng and hundreds of Chinese EV start-ups are backed by many of China's largest technology behemoths and carmakers.

• Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are supplying electric car start-ups technology in the hope of creating synergies between them and defining the future of mobility.

• China’s digital giants will dominate in-car connectivity features and operating systems, according to McKinsey.

11. Why are China's EV makers expanding offshore?

Southeast Asia puts its electric vehicle revolution in gear. Singapore is spearheading a regional drive to cut carbon emissions by embracing electric vehicles and ditching internal combustion engines.

12. What are NEVs and which cities in China are buying them?

In the top five cities with the highest sales of new-energy trucks and vans in 2020.

• Buyers snapped up 58,045 units of new-energy trucks and vans in mainland China last year to arrest a two-year slide in sales.

• Shenzhen topped the list of cities with 12,858 vehicles sold, making up 22.2 per cent of China’s NEV truck and van sales.

13. Who is Xpeng and are they a true Tesla competitor?

NIO, Xpeng and hundreds of Chinese EV start-ups are staking their claims with new models and technology. Tesla’s Chinese rival Xpeng fits P7 electric saloon cars with fast-charging, short-range batteries to pass cost savings to customers.

• A fast-charging lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack will be available as an option on the P7 model starting in May, two sources said.

• The LFP batteries, which can go as far as 480km (298 miles) on a single charge, will cost about 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) less

14. Is Model Y helping Tesla grow market share in China's competitive EV market?

Tesla keeps China’s EV competitors at bay with a threefold jump in deliveries of its cut-price Model Y

• The American electric car giant delivered 4,630 Model Ys in February, compared to 1,641 in January.

• The three main Chinese Tesla challengers saw sharp declines as the cut-price Model Y dented demand for their cars.

15. Who are the market leaders in China's EV sales in 2021?

NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto are the biggest Chinese EV contenders.

• Chinese EV bellwether Xpeng saw fourth-quarter sales soar to a record high before Tesla slashed price of its Model Y. The Guangzhou-based carmaker said revenue between October and December soared by a massive 345 per cent from a year earlier to 2.85 billion yuan.

• Tesla took the wind out of domestic EV makers’ sails when it knocked 30 per cent off the price of its Model Y at the start of the year.

16. Who are Tesla's Chinese competitors, and what's the big deal?

NIO, Xpeng and hundreds of Chinese EV start-ups are staking their claims with new models and technolog.

• Xpeng will equip its electric vehicles with light detection and ranging systems next year to improve its autonomous driving technology.

• Elon Musk says lidar is too expensive and not necessary, as Tesla’s self-driving technology relies on cameras and radar.

17. What are the top 5 electric vehicle fundraisers to watch out for in 2021?

China’s fundraising boom for electric cars looks set to continue through the Year of the Ox.

• WM Motor, Leapmotor and Aiways plan IPOs in Shanghai as they fight for market share in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.

• Hong Kong-listed Geely and China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group plan A-share sales.

Reading details from original news - https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3123210/china-ev-war-top-5-investment-funds-electric-vehicles