For the first time, new energy vehicles have changed China from a panting catch-up to a leader in the field of automobile manufacturing. This makes the West panic.
Because the automobile industry is the largest industry in the world, the strength of the automobile industry is the vane of a country's manufacturing level, and it is also the scepter of the head of the global village.
Since there are cars on the earth, whichever country has the strongest automobile manufacturing will have the strongest national strength.
Let's start with history.
In 1801, an Englishman, Trevisick, built a high-pressure steam engine based on the model of an existing steam engine and installed it on a locomotive. In this way, the first steam-powered locomotive in human history, the "PuffingDevil", was born.
Britain at this time was the world hegemon.
Before the First World War, the German automobile industry had basically formed an independent industrial sector, with more than 50,000 automobile manufacturing workers and an annual output of 20,000 vehicles, reaching the second place in the world.
Therefore, at that time, Germany was also the second strongest in the world, and it had the qualifications to challenge for the position of village chief.
In 1935, the Soviet Union produced 97,000 cars, ushering in the first glorious moment of the Soviet automobile industry, which was the second largest in the world, after the United States.
So at that time, although there were constantly good performances on the European continent, the United States and the Soviet Union were the strongest countries at that time from the perspective of automobile manufacturing.
The USSR was the second in the world.
In 1975, the Americans lost their position as the world leader in the auto industry that had held it for more than six decades: Japan produced 8.2 million cars that year, while the United States built 8.1 million. This symbolic event can also be seen as a warning that the automotive industry is about to change.
This aroused the alarm of the United States and triggered the United States to suppress Japan.
Later, the United States regained the number one automobile production by constantly suppressing Japan.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it produced only 1 million cars. Therefore, although it is the same superpower as the United States, objectively speaking, its strength is much weaker.
From these historical data, it can be seen that automobile manufacturing objectively reflects the strength of each country. If the automobile manufacturing is strong, the national strength is also strong, and if the automobile manufacturing is declining, the country is also declining.
Let's look at China again.
In 1995, when the annual production of automobiles in the United States exceeded 16 million units, reaching the peak of mankind, China produced only 1 million cars, and the power gap between China and the United States at that time was huge.
At that time, the United States had just won the hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union and became the world's sole superpower.
In 2006, China became the world's third largest automobile manufacturer in this year, with an annual output of 8.1 million units!
In 2007, China's annual automobile production reached 10.5 million units, making it the world's largest automobile manufacturing country.
In 2008, China hosted the Beijing Olympic Games and put forward the concept of a multipolar world, making China an important pole in the world.
In those years, the United States and the West did not show vigilance against China's automobile manufacturing, why?
Because there was moisture in China's automobile production at that time.
At that time, although China was already the world's largest automobile producer, it was not the world's largest power.
Because at this time, China's automobile manufacturing is dominated by joint venture cars, and independent brands are still very weak. Although these cars are produced in China, strictly speaking, the output should be counted on the heads of the United States and the West.
This phenomenon did not fundamentally change until 2023, that is, last year.
In this year, for the first time, China's own car brand sales surpassed that of joint venture cars, and domestic brands dominated the list, accounting for 52% of total sales. This is the first time in 39 years that a Chinese automaker has regained the sales championship in the Chinese auto market since Volkswagen, the first foreign brand Volkswagen entered the Chinese market in 1984 and established a joint venture.
This can understand why the United States and the West are now so wary of Chinese car manufacturing, because they are starting to panic.
In 2023, there will be 30 million cars produced in China, and 52% of them will be self-owned brands, that is, more than 15 million vehicles, ranking first in the world. The United States produced 10 million cars in the same period, and China ranked first in the world.
But let us not be complacent and feel that we have already defeated US imperialism. It should be noted that in addition to producing cars locally, the United States also produces cars overseas, and the share of American cars in China is 7.5%, that is, more than 2 million units. Moreover, U.S. cars are not only produced in China, but also in the United States, if you count overseas car production, the strength of China and the United States is basically equal.
So, now is the real phase of strategic stalemate.
There is a long way to go, but the future is immeasurable, because domestic cars are rising rapidly, and they may be able to get rid of the United States this year.
The future of China's automobiles is promising.