As reported in the Wall Street Journal on September 16, 2010, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is preparing a plan to make China the "the world's leader" in developing and producing battery-powered cars and hybrids. China expects to achieve its goal by acquiring technology from multinationals by forcing them to form joint ventures with Chinese companies if they want to produce key energy components in China. Because China is an indispensable market for multinationals and costs to import these components to China are too great, companies would feel the need to produce these components in China.
Companies are now caught between losing technology or losing the biggest market to sell cars. Most likely, multinationals will be forced to comply with china's rules, and China will become a leader in the electric car segment. As reported in the Wall Street Journal article, China projects to have five million electric cars and plug-in hybrids on the roads by 2020. For that, they plan to invest as much as 100 billion yuan, or about $15 billion, in areas such as charging stations and other infrastructure. In 10 years from now, China could become a prototype for what could be the our future, a world moved entirely by electric cars.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704394704575495480368918268.html
Felipe, you must include your own opinion on the article.
ReplyDeleteThey may certainly be leading the industry in the amount they invest in the market, but will the product or results be satisfactory? Media has certainly portrayed China as a gigantic rising market, but its also portrayed China as an untrustworthy nation of producers.China's factories do not have a great reputation. They produce plastics with poisons and have workers without benefits. Will a nation like this really lead the industry in technology and stride ahead seasoned competitors?
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