Has China already won the EV race?

If carmakers believe the auto transition must happen at some point, delaying simply puts them further behind.

- Robin Harding

The expressway from Shenzhen to Dongguan and Guangzhou, through one of China's industrial heartlands, boasts almost every vehicle the global market has to offer. Toyota sedans weave aggressively between industrial tankers; sleek Maybachs and Mercedes-Benzes ferry executives; Teslas silently demand attention; and global staples like the Volkswagen Golf chug along, minding their own business.

But they are only half the fleet. Every second car seems to have an unfamiliar nameplate, funky headlights and a whining electric motor. These are the new Chinese automobiles. They are taking over their domestic market. Soon, they will take over the world.

The rise of Chinese cars in China is already claiming victims abroad: Volkswagen plans to close factories in Germany for the first time and lay off tens of thousands of workers as it loses share in the world's biggest auto market. But this is just the beginning.

Established carmakers are vowing to cut costs, begging for subsidies, demanding tariffs which the EU has just enacted and trying to cling to the internal combustion engine.

If the intention is to preserve industrial employment, then these efforts are doomed to fail. That is because the shock is not just China or just electric vehicles (EVs). It is both at once.