The Chinese aim to boost sales of electric vehicles. The news is a warning shot – and possibly the death knell – for German carmakers, who have relied on the Chinese market for sales of luxury gas guzzlers made in Germany. Craig Morris explains. A few years back, China announced its 12th Five-Year Plan, which included some interesting commitments to solar energy (PDF). Today, we see the result: Chinese firms dominate cell and panel production – using, it should be added, production lines largely from Germany. This outcome should not have surprised anyone. Solar panels are hardly more high tech than radios, and Germany is not exactly a major manufacturer of such devices today. China is. Germany remains a maker of heavy equipment requiring great engineering expertise. So German firms generally serve other companies (business-to-business or B2B), not retail customers (B2C). The biggest chunk of metal most people are likely to buy today is a car. Cars are also among the smallest things most of us are likely to buy from Germany. The sector is therefore … Continue reading Move over Tesla, here comes China (and forget Germany)