China's 20 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Guangzhou on Monday, marking the sector's entry into a large-scale, global high-quality development stage, leading the transformation and upgrading of the global automobile industry toward electrified and intelligent development.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China produced 3.05 million units of NEVs and sold 2.94 million units in the first five months of this year, up 45.1 percent and 46.8 percent year-on-year respectively. The proportion of their sales to total sales of new vehicles has reached 27.7 percent. The cumulative production of NEVs in China exceeded 5 million units in September 2020 and 10 million units in February 2022 before doubling to 20 million just a year and five months later.

The automobile industry also drives the development of steel, chemical engineering, mining and oil industries on the upstream apart from boosting downstream consumption, urban construction and housing construction. It also promotes the booming commerce, tourism and other industries.

In May 2023, China exported 1.933 million vehicles, up 80 percent year-on-year, of which the export of NEVs was 457,000 units, up 1.6 times year-on-year. China is now not only a major supplier of low-cost electric cars, but also the most dominant supplier of low-cost carbon-free electricity and advanced grids, which is of great significance to other countries, developing ones in particular.

Since developed countries have a huge automobile market, and China's NEVs are making further inroads, will they also be able to win larger shares in their market? Given that Europeans attach greater importance to environmental protection, many European countries have put forward a timetable to ban the sale of fuel vehicles, which may provide more opportunities for Chinese NEVs. Actually, Europeans have realized the strength of China's NEVs, and as the replacement of traditional cars by NEVs becomes unavoidable, Chinese NEVs will take an increasing share there.

Given that Chinese companies account for about two-thirds of the world's supply of power batteries, global automakers who want to invest heavily in battery capacity usually need to work with Chinese specialized battery manufacturers. Many Chinese lithium battery companies have invested in building factories in Europe, in cooperation with German and French companies, and Europeans have increasingly felt the appeal of Chinese products and technology. With their advanced technology, low cost and good services, the march of Chinese cars to the world market will set off a global automotive revolution.