Electric Vehicles

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Chinese electric vehicle companies have benefited from billions of dollars in government support, which has helped them gain control of the supply chain down to the very minerals inside the car batteries. This early edge helped two Chinese companies, BYD and Contemporary Amperex Technology Company — known as CATL and added to the Pentagon’s list of Chinese military companies in January — become the biggest electric battery makers in the world.

Xiaomi used this supply chain to its advantage. Its cars contain batteries from BYD and CATL. It was able to quickly start production by taking over a factory from Beijing Auto Group. Construction workers in Beijing are working around the clock on a second factory.

All this manufacturing capacity helps Chinese electric vehicle firms move from development to production in far less time than traditional automakers in China, enabling them to bring new models to market quickly and focus on making software that they can continually update, said Stephen W. Dyer, head of Asia Automotive at AlixPartners, a consultancy.