China has spent at least $230 billion to build its EV industry, new study finds

BEIJING — China spent $230.8 billion over more than a decade to develop its electric car industry, according to analysis published Thursday by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The scale of government support represents 18.8% of total electric car sales between 2009 and 2023, said Scott Kennedy, trustee chair in Chinese Business and Economics at CSIS. He noted the ratio of such spending to EV sales has declined from more than 40% in the years prior to 2017, to just above 11% in 2023.

The findings come as the EU plans to impose tariffs on imports of Chinese electric cars over the use of subsidies in their production.

Last month, the U.S. announced it was raising duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles to 100%.

Kennedy pointed out that Beijing's support for electric cars has included non-monetary policies that favored domestic automakers over foreign ones. But he also noted that the U.S. has not created conditions that are as attractive as China's for developing its own electric car industry.

"There are some exceptions, but in general Western automakers and governments have dilly dallied and not been aggressive enough," he said. Kennedy had laid out seven policy initiatives in a report four years ago about potential trade tensions from Chinese electric cars.

Government subsidies did not necessarily go straight into car development. In the early years of China's EV development, the Ministry of Finance said it found at least five companies cheated the government of over 1 billion yuan ($140 million).

China-made vehicles have also benefitted from growing penetration of electric cars in the country, cutting into a once-lucrative fuel-powered market for foreign automakers. The competition is so