How Many EVs Can I Find on a Walk in China? | Exploring China's Electric Vehicle Scene

Discover the forefront of the global electric vehicle (EV) revolution in China, where a myriad of affordable EV models await to make their mark on the global market. As the impending threat of a 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs in the USA looms, the future of these vehicles abroad remains uncertain.
Join me in this immersive journey through the streets of Yangzhou, a bustling third-tier city nestled in Jiangsu Province a few hours outside Shanghai, as we delve into the heart of the thriving EV market. From the spotlight on Chinese EV giants like BYD, Nio, Xpeng, an SAIC to the established prowess of Tesla, the landscape is rife with innovation and diversity.
In this video, I'll guide you through a plethora of EV models, including BYD Seagull and others. Witness firsthand how China's EV industry outpaces its American counterparts, posing a formidable challenge to traditional automakers.
As American car companies struggle to produce competitive EVs, China's dominance in the EV market threatens to disrupt the status quo, paving the way for a new era in transportation.
Don't miss this exclusive glimpse into China's EV scene, a testament to China's relentless pursuit of sustainable mobility. Subscribe now for the latest updates on the EV revolution! 🚗⚡
#china #electricvehicle #byd #bydseagull #tesla #evs #chinanews

[@amandagrant4331]

So many EVs, very good choice

[@middlekingdomproductions]

Awesome video! nice effort finding so many different models! and to think this is only a few of the many EV brands here is crazy! nice one 👍

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks. Yeah I know. I was disappointed I didn’t find more. I think in this area they only have large numbers of the really inexpensive ones and Teslas. I will remake videos like this and try to go to different areas and see what I find.

[@jasonmugridge]

It tends to be Americans who worry the most about the Wuling Mini's. I guess its not designed to be driven that fast, and also what form of transport did it replace as it could be safer. Also size isn't necessarily an issue, the original Smart car is pretty safe, and then many of the massive pickups in the US are not that safe and don't have to meet the same safety standards as passenger cars.

[@Shin.m.z]

Hello mate, District Jiangdu of Yangzhou city is my hometown. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@xiaoandmatt]

What a coincidence! How did you find my channel?

[@xiaoandmatt]

At 9:42 that was actually an Aito, not an Aion. I couldn't see the name clearly.

[@liqiuyang3985]

It's one of the most popular brands in China, you should check it out.

[@cosmoobserver3416]

05:01 IM Motors (Chinese: 智己汽车, Zhiji Motors) is an electric vehicle joint venture between Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC Motor and Chinese technology companies Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba Group. Extremely great value for money. The IM LS7 is a battery electric mid-size crossover SUV built by IM Motors, developed from the full-sized sedan platform of the IM L7. The LS7 was officially launched in the Chinese market in February 2023 with deliveries starting in March. The price range is between CNY 279,800 and 449,800.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks for all the information! I really liked that car - very slick looking.

[@binxu1549]

第一辆是老头乐😂

[@xiaoandmatt]

现在我知道了，因为也有另一个人评论说是一辆老头乐。但是我拍这个视频的时候我没听说过”老头乐”这个单词。 哈哈

[@antiti4ever]

Unidentified EV=UEV😅

[@xiaoandmatt]

Haha

[@YongLi-np3wg]

1:28 The first one and a a few other small ones are not valid EVs. It's more like a four wheel scooter, lacks the necessary control and safety measures a valid vehicle has. The green plate is a mock. Valid licence starts with a Chinese character except military service vehicle. These mockups are very cheap with basic functions often used by age or physically challenged to move around in neighborhood. That's why it's called 老头乐 translate to "making grandpa happy". Very annoying and dangerous. Banned in major cities but still existing in smaller ones.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Very interesting! Thanks for the comment!

[@chinadollfmd]

As China moves more to EV cars, they are building more coal plants and polluting the air. Please discuss how they are going to fix this.

[@lkrnpk]

They are also building more and more green capacity, I don't know, people are saying that coal in China might peak this or next year, and coal plants are also shutting down or are used less due to only needed during peak demand times, some are maybe built in new places where they still have to prop up solar/wind in peak hours when there is no green energy, but also battery systems are coming online. China has most green electricity in the world too, only their electricity demand is so high they cannot source it all in time from hydro, solar, wind or nuclear... so they still have coal. It is different from EU or USA where electricity demand is actually stagnating or not increasing that much, so there is it actually easier to replace the fossil sources.... in China you still need to add new capacity all the time, but it will peak some day too

[@xiaoandmatt]

To be honest I don't have any more information than you. All I heard was that they were trying to move the factories away from the major cities and I can attest to the fact that the air is noticeably cleaner than it was before 2017. When I first moved to China in 2013 the air was very polluted and there were only blue sky days once every 10 days or so, but now most of the days the sky is pretty blue if you look straight up. It still isn't nearly as clean as where I am from in the States, but it is for sure improving.

[@jogana6909]

I have seen a simple calculation: When the ICE vehicle travels for 100 kilometers, gasoline combustion produces 19.2kg of carbon dioxide, while the gasoline production process produces 35kg of carbon dioxide, which totals 54.2kg of carbon dioxide. When EV travels 100 kilometers (even if all the electricity comes from coal-fired power plants), about 14.4kg of carbon dioxide is generated during the production of these electricity. - On the othe hand, China is vigorously building photovoltaic and wind power plants.

[@birdyashiro1226]

中国每年都在强迫几十万棵树存在。

[@DW-op7ly]

China is responsible for 33% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions today, but this will reduce to 22% by 2050, a reduction in annual emissions of 8 GtCO2 (three times the size of Europe’s decarbonization over the same period) China’s power mix shifts from 30% renewable today to 88% by 2050 Solar makes up 5% of power generation in China today - this will rise to 38% by 2050 Oil consumption only halves by 2050 from its 2027 peak, while natural gas peaks in the 2030s before returning to today’s levels by mid-century China will further extend its position as the world’s green energy leader with unrivalled build-out and export of renewable technology DNV

[@JoshSZHANG]

Many of the tiny EVs that are not Wuling Minis are actually called 老头乐laotoule which are intended as for low speed operation and not really road legal. It's a legal grey area. Many older people rely on them for transportation, but they are slow and have no safety features.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks for the comment!

[@EnriqueLopez-lf8qm]

You don't need a driving license to drive the tiny cars with strange number plates. These cars are called 老头乐。

[@xiaoandmatt]

Oh really? Interesting to know. Thanks!

[@alvinnnliu]

Yeah, the old-man-happy car (not a car).🤣

[@zzZHua]

哈哈哈哈，不推荐，政府将全面禁止

[@powerrising4933]

三年后禁止上路，禁止生产，禁止销售。这种电瓶车无视道路交通规则

[@0.0LEE-n8i]

@@powerrising4933 只有大城市开始出台禁止令，还有很多地方还要依赖老头乐工厂拉动经济呢😂

[@tren133]

- A lot of those cars you thought were Wuling Mini EVs are actually Chery QQ Ice Cream models, which look suspiciously similar to the Wuling. Perhaps not surprising given some of Chery's previous models also looking suspiciously similar to other brands cars. The old gas powered Chery QQs were modeled after the Daewoo Matiz, and now the electric QQ Ice Cream is a copy of the Wuling! At least Changan (Lumin Corn) and Geely (Panda Mini) styled their cars with their own design when putting out a Wuling competitor. Which is also why Changan and Geely are a higher tier automaker compared to Chery. - No surprise at all that you see a lot of Tesla, BYD, GAC Aion, and Li Auto cars, since these are all selling very well recently. Although I am a bit surprised at so many NIOs, since they don't sell quite as well, and are generally more expensive, so it is perhaps a bit odd you ran into so many in a third tier city. - There was one car on the road you though was Aion, but it was actually an AITO M5. AITO is essentially Huawei's EV brand, and you will be seeing more and more of those because with Huawei's resources behind it, AITO sales have exploded during the past year. Apple failed to make an EV, but both Huawei and now Xiaomi have put out some pretty nice EVs over in China. - The really cool looking ones you didn't know about with the two dots and dashes logo on the front were IM brand EVs. IM is a new joint venture between China's biggest state owned carmaker SAIC and tech giant Alibaba, and have started to gain some good sales as well. It is indicative of how poorly western automakers are doing on EVs in China (and elsewhere). SAIC cut its teeth as the joint venture partner to two of the biggest car companies in the world, VW and GM, but more and more it is pivoting to EVs, in particular its OWN brands such as IM and MG (another car you saw on the road). - those no name brand tiny EVs and even the Wuling Mini EV would definitely not be safe in a crash at highway speeds, although they are okay for low speed urban driving. However the BYD Seagull should be reasonably safe. It is built on the same platform as the Dolphin and only a little bit smaller than the Dolphin, and the Dolphin received 5 star EuroNCAP crash rating without any issue. - Leapmotor indeed makes some fine looking cars, and the underlying tech is pretty good too, but they are a bit short of money in the ultra cut throat Chinese EV market. In an ironic twist of fate, global giant Stellantis (owner of Fiat, Jeep, Chrylser, Peugeot etc) just bought a 20% stake in Leapmotor. Leapmotor gets a cash injection, and Stellantis gets access to Leapmotor's tech. Think about that for a minute. The 4th largest auto conglomerate in the world just spent 1.5 billion Euro to get a small share (20%) of a struggling third tier Chinese STARTUP carmaker, in large part because that little Chinese startup still has EV platforms (including a very nice EREV platform) and production capabilities that Stellantis itself does not possess. This is why all the western automakers (and nations) are freaking out over Chinese EVs. If Leapmotor is this good, just think of what BYD, Geely, Huawei, SAIC etc are capable of.

[@directxxxx71]

Great info

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thank you for your detailed insights into the Chinese EV market! It's fascinating to hear about the nuances and developments within different automakers. I appreciate the correction on the Chery QQ Ice Cream models and the clarification about the AITO M5. I actually posted a comment acknowledging the misidentification of the AITO in the video. Your detailed clarification adds even more depth to the discussion. It's great to have such engaged viewers who are knowledgeable about the subject matter. Your insights definitely enrich the conversation around Chinese EVs. It's truly impressive to see the rapid growth and innovation happening in the industry, especially with brands like IM and AITO gaining traction. The investment by Stellantis in Leapmotor definitely highlights the competitive landscape and the significance of Chinese EV technology. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

[@tren133]

@@xiaoandmatt You bet. I don't even live here but have spent too many hours watching youtube videos of Chinese EVs LOL. 9 years ago I was in China for my honeymoon, and I remember riding in a BYD F3 taxi, which was just an mediocre copy of a 9th generation Toyota Corolla, except obviously not as good as a Corolla. Never would I think that in less than 10 years, BYD would be going toe to toe with Tesla and about to sell 4 million of their own cars a year, every single one of which is either plug in or pure electric. Now Toyota is partnering with BYD to put a whole set of BYD designed and built engine-drivetrain-blade battery system in their EVs such as the Toyota bZ3. The advances made by the Chinese domestic automakers over the past few years have been impressive to say the least. I'll finally be going back to China again next month, and it will be neat to check out some of these new EVs in person. Hopefully the Xiaomi showrooms will finally quiet down enough so I can go checkout that super hyped SU7.

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@tren133 That’s awesome! Yeah I have gone to some of those Xiaomi stores and seen the cars there - I just didn’t recognize that brand symbol when I saw one in the wild. Would a video in one of those Xiaomi or other EV stores be something you would be interested in?

[@aison2735]

9:36That car is the HUAWEI AITO M5 Advanced Intelligent Driving Edition, and its outstanding autonomous driving ability is its most important selling point.

[@LYW-su3ol]

18:39 you miss counted one when you count that model y, there is a zeeker 009 passing by from left to right , that's a very nice Electirc van

[@xiaoandmatt]

Yeah I know I missed a bunch of EVs that were driving past when I was focused on other cars. I will have to go out and make another video one day.

[@LetsGo-zj9tq]

Amazing to see so many EVs in Yangzhou. From the car plate you can tell Yangzhou is even a small city in Jiangsu province (the alphabet A-Z refers to the size of the city in that particular province being A the capital city), obviously EVs are very popular in China.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Yes and we aren't even in the main city. Jiangdu is probably about 13km from downtown Yangzhou. It feels like a separate city.

[@yungng1864]

One thing I notice via KZbin,all the EV in China have Green color plate. In California they are all the same regardless of either an ICE or EV.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Yeah all the BEVs and hybrids have green license plates, so it is sometimes hard to tell if they are BEVs or hybrids.

[@Lpqc8021]

@@xiaoandmatt For example：苏KD11111，苏 means province, F means city , D means EV. / 苏 KF11111 , 苏 means province, K means city , F means hybrids.

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@Lpqc8021 Wow. Good to know. I will keep an eye out now for those letters to identify EVs.

[@Lpqc8021]

@@xiaoandmatt That's just for the most part. But in megacities like Beijing（京） and Shanghai（沪）, there are so many cars that there are other letters besides D and F.

[@honesty_-no9he]

@@xiaoandmatt Hybrids have tailpipes and both a charge port and a petrol port. Personally I think the Hybrids should be a third colour.

[@yuey0602]

Wuling are decent cars with abs seat belt airbag etc., while 老头乐 are not. they are managed more like e bikes, even not a decent motorcycle. you cant find 老头乐 in bigger cities, they are actually not road legal, cant get legal plates and dont need a licence to drive them. in smaller cities government may have some local regulations to give them some "not-so-legal" local plates for easier management.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Cool. Thanks for the information. That makes sense because I feel like I didn't really see them in Nanjing. When we move back to Nanjing this summer I will check if I see any. I know that I probably wouldn't get into one of those little cars. They are way too small for my taste.

[@yuey0602]

@@xiaoandmatt you are absolutely right and should not get into anyone of them on public road... there are reasons why they are called 老头乐, mainly retired old people drive them to do things like groceries, so cheap to buy one with no insurance no plates no licence, and people above certain age are very hard to be fined or punished by law when something happens...

[@cosmoobserver3416]

@@yuey0602 Lao tou le (old man's happiness) is distributed using a legal loophole of "mopeds" in 3rd tier cities and below. Technically, it should only be used in the neighborhood streets. However, in towns and the countryside, there are so many of them that cops don't bother to interfere.

[@yuey0602]

@@cosmoobserver3416 就这么一提而已。。。真认真分析，原因多了去了，对很多地方来说，这算禁摩的恶果之一吧。

[@ChimaChindaDev]

That NIO ET5 is nice 🔥 8:34

[@RSCB]

sheeeesh

[@honesty_-no9he]

So to those who did not know, when hear all those toddler US politicians screaming that China is guilty of being unfair (code for US legacy brands are failures) just look at how many TESLAs there are in this video.

[@xiaoandmatt]

The sad part is that many of those politicians also don’t like Tesla.

[@LYW-su3ol]

another fun fact on the LI auto thing, LI Xiang not only means "ideal" , it's also the name of the founder himself , different characters, but sounds the same

[@xiaoandmatt]

That is a fun fact! Thanks for the comment!

[@birdyashiro1226]

8:34 I love NIO.

[@xiaoandmatt]

I would love to get an ET5!

[@asleytamkei7507]

Small car for city running about, PERIOD! 90% of the time, running about doing the choirs etcetera! Duh!

[@dynasty5950]

OMG！You are in my hometown!

[@xiaoandmatt]

And it’s a great town!

[@WUYIFAN-i6n]

HAHAHA，it's a 老头乐，the first one you found.

[@georwoogle]

😀😀😀

[@waynejin2595]

Surprisingly haven't found even one AITO, a far far ahead car~~😄

[@xiaoandmatt]

One Aito was driving past and I mistakenly said it was an Aion.

[@cenzoredworld]

What city are you in?

[@xiaoandmatt]

This is Yangzhou in a district called Jiangdu which is about 13km from proper downtown Yangzhou.

[@honesty_-no9he]

9:07 Red or wine coloured BYD HAN has an interior way nice than a MODEL S for 1/3rd of the price in China half the price of a MODEL S in Europe. Though that HAN was a hybrid the pure EV is better and has a nicer front without the ICE grill.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Yeah I like the BYD Han as well. Very nice cars!

[@hjyu2769]

你不认识的几个车都是老头乐，不可以上牌。所以不是你的问题。🤭

[@xiaoandmatt]

哈哈。谢谢。当时我完全不知道他们是叫”老头乐”，并且不可以上牌。我每天都在学到新的知识！ ：）

[@YufeiLiu-vp3iw]

Nice video Matt, welcome to visit BYD headquarters in Shenzhen someday (I don’t know if you have been there). We really look forward to building a connection with you.

[@YufeiLiu-vp3iw]

dont know how to leave my email addr here, will try to find you on bilibili🤣

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@YufeiLiu-vp3iw The channel name is the same as this KZbin channel, but my wife never posts my videos there anymore. :(

[@estmeta]

the first one is a fake. Not really road-legal.

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks! Yeah a lot of people have been teaching me that fact. lol. I had no idea.

[@jasonmugridge]

at 5.00 it's an IM LS6

[@willingjiao]

你在扬州呀，我是隔壁泰州

[@xiaoandmatt]

是的！但是我从未去过泰州。 你觉值得去看看吗？

[@picandvideo]

no wonder the air is so clear.

[@xiaoandmatt]

The air quality has actually gotten a lot cleaner over the last 6-7 years. Not sure if it’s from the EVs or just moving factories to different areas of the country, but things have changed a bit with regard to the air pollution.

[@strategicfooyouagencyfirst8197]

天下三分明月夜，二分无赖是扬州。浙江最好的城市。

[@Shin.m.z]

一个默默无闻的小城市而已，最好谈不上，扬州不隶属于浙江省，而是江苏省的

[@frontline324]

@@Shin.m.z扬州比大多数城市有名多了，烟花三月下扬州啦

[@EnriqueLopez-lf8qm]

哈哈，扬州成浙江的了？

[@THE3presents]

15:00 老头乐

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks for the comment!

[@LaowaiDaveJCP]

I studied at Yangzhou University so this video is so relatable to me.

[@xiaoandmatt]

I'm sure you miss Yangzhou!

[@lkrnpk]

Norway leads the world in EVs, but it is a small country :D

[@xiaoandmatt]

Yes, that is true!

[@markuc]

Norway leads in EV as percentage of new car sales, however in pure numbers it's barely 1% of China since the latter's market is by far the biggest in the world. For reference, 10m+ EVs are expected to be sold in China in 2024.

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@markuc I’m sure there are more EVs in Shanghai than in all of Norway lol

[@robvannNS]

I think you mentioned black is a free color..what does that mean?

[@xiaoandmatt]

Each Tesla factory has certain colors that just come with the cars and you don't need to pay for them. In China it was and may still be black, but I am not sure. The California factory's free color was white for a long time and now it is gray or dark silver. I am not sure what colors are free at the other factories.

[@robvannNS]

@@xiaoandmatt I can see that. Thanks for posting. It was certainly an eye opener re Ev's in China.

[@what-ws6tw]

@@xiaoandmatt American don't like white car, but Chinese like

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@what-ws6tw Gotta love the sweeping generalizations about entire populations of people. lol If I had 1 RMB for every time a Chinese person started a sentence with “All Americans think…” and “All Americans are…” I would be a very rich man.

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@what-ws6tw Oh yeah and “All Americans like…” can’t forget that one. Oh my.

[@wegder]

China is responsible for 95% of new coal power construction in 2023, with 70.2 GW of new construction underway, which is 19 times more than the rest of the world. As of August 29, 2023, China has 243 GW of new coal power approved or under construction

[@xiaoandmatt]

Thanks for the information.

[@z3020979]

These are for backups. As renewable energy is not stable. China is also building as much renewable energy power plant as well. The green and none green power plants are 50 to 50.

[@brewingtonnadine]

population is small ， the country;s population is equal to where i am living right now, 7million in Xiamen, Fujian Province, souteast coast of chia

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@brewingtonnadine which country are you referring to?

[@Germany._.Kit77]

Mostly all in junkyards, almost 1 million in this yankyard that is why they try to sell other countries 😂😢😮

[@xiaoandmatt]

Not sure what a “yankyard” is, but I’ll take it from your tone that you aren’t here to be friendly, so kindly F’off sir.

[@samimawon14]

I think you watched china observer, china insight , serpentza etc western media propaganda 😂😂😂😂

[@samimawon14]

You watched china observer , china insight , serpentza etc western media propaganda 😂😂😂😂

[@3yexQSx]

@@samimawon14 They are Falun Gong anti China BS medias fool people around in free world.

[@King-vo7vm]

You don't feel very safe means you are a bad driver...

[@xiaoandmatt]

This is a very silly thing to say. Being a good driver doesn't mean that some idiot on the road won't run a red light and t-bone your car and kill you and if your car is half the mass of whatever hits you the results will be catastrophic to whoever is inside.

[@tonycanton5611]

This city seems unrepresentative

[@xiaoandmatt]

Unrepresentative of what?

[@tren133]

It is unrepresentative, since it is a third tier city. The first and second tier cities would have even MORE plug in and electric vehicles in them. Plus a fully electric bus fleet. Plus a brand new subway system.

[@xiaoandmatt]

@@tren133 Oh yeah absolutely. I don’t think any single city can be representative of a whole country. If I filmed this in Shanghai than there would be a lot more EVs and people would tell me that my video is also not representative of China because there is obviously a much higher concentration of wealth and early adopters in the richer cities. This video is representative of Jiangdu and other similar sized cities in this region (Taizhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou).

[@what-ws6tw]

no city can represent China, China is huge, population territory weather are vast, even cities in the same province are quite different, accents foods economics and so on 在中国没有哪个城市具代表性，口音，食物，经济等，各有千秋

[@frontline324]

@@xiaoandmatt你说的对，在中国东北，因为寒冷的气候，电动车很少，但是实际上，中国新车销量里，超过50%的份额都是EV 了