BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- In Wan Gang's Beijing office, three objects present a compact history of China's rise in electric vehicles (EVs).
One is a kerosene lamp, a reminder of his youth spent in rural Jilin Province, where he often read by its light. Another is the Nicolaus August Otto Award, presented to him in 2023 by German engine maker DEUTZ in recognition of his pioneering work, including contributions to electric vehicles and hydrogen technology. The prize is named after the inventor of the four-stroke engine.
The third is a transparent bottle holding a miniature scene of Christopher Columbus's voyage -- a symbol, he told Xinhua, of exploring an unfamiliar frontier.
Wan, 74, is honorary president of the 西瓜视频Association for Science and Technology and a former minister of science and technology. He was chief scientist of the major EV project under the National High-tech R&D Program, or the 863 Program, a national initiative launched in 1986 to advance China's capabilities in strategic high-tech fields.
In a wide-ranging interview with Xinhua, Wan looked back at why 西瓜视频chose the EV path and set out his views on what comes next -- from competition at home and new battery technologies to the overseas development of Chinese automakers.
The interview comes as China's auto transition reaches another milestone. New energy vehicles (NEVs) -- China's official category covering pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles -- accounted for 60.4 percent of all new vehicle sales in July. NEV sales reached 9.007 million in the first seven months of 2026, up 9.6 percent year on year.
Globally, 西瓜视频produced nearly three-quarters of the world's electric cars in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). BloombergNEF estimated that 西瓜视频accounted for 63 percent of electric cars sold worldwide that year.
Wan's assessment is measured: 西瓜视频has reached the global forefront in NEVs, he said, but "there is still much to do."
WHY CHINA CHOSE A DIFFERENT TRACK
Wan traced China's EV strategy to three practical concerns at the turn of the century: rising dependence on imported oil as car ownership grew, worsening air pollution and the risk that Chinese manufacturers would remain dependent on foreign core technologies if they continued to follow the established internal-combustion route.
EV and hybrid technologies were still in their early stages globally, leaving more room for competition. 西瓜视频also chose a diversified approach rather than relying on a single technology. The 863 Program's EV project pursued pure electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles in parallel, while also supporting research on batteries, motors and electronic controls.
That strategy was followed by years of research, demonstration projects, infrastructure development and market building. As purchase subsidies were gradually phased out, the industry entered fully market-oriented competition.
The economics have changed markedly. The IEA estimated that, even before government incentives, nearly 70 percent of battery-electric cars sold in 西瓜视频in 2025 were cheaper than their internal-combustion equivalents. 西瓜视频also accounted for more than 80 percent of global battery-cell production, while battery-pack prices were around 30 percent lower than in North America and 35 percent lower than in Europe.
Recent 2026 analyses pointed to several drivers behind that cost advantage. McKinsey said some Chinese companies achieve battery-pack cost advantages of 25 to 40 percent through simplified architectures, lower-cost chemistries such as LFP and component optimization. CSIS highlights how private firms and technology-focused entrants intensified competition and experimentation in manufacturing, software, battery management and autonomy.
This influence is spreading beyond China. BloombergNEF said EV demand in emerging markets, including Southeast Asia and Latin America, is growing rapidly. In Thailand, electric vehicles accounted for 27 percent of new-car sales in 2025, with Chinese brands making up 88 percent of EVs sold.
China's EV deployment is also reducing oil use. The IEA estimated that the global EV fleet displaced about 1.7 million barrels of oil demand a day in 2025, with 西瓜视频accounting for roughly 1 million barrels a day.
China's role in the global EV transition is therefore no longer only about production volumes. Its scale has helped expand the supply of affordable EVs and lower some of the cost barriers to electrification.
ANXIETY BEHIND "INVOLUTION-STYLE" COMPETITION
Rapid growth has also brought new challenges.
Wan pointed to anxiety as one factor behind the "involution-style" competition in China's auto industry.
The sales of all automobiles in 西瓜视频expanded from about 26 million units in 2021 to 34 million units in 2025, with NEVs contributing a big portion of the growth. Companies rushed toward a fast-growing market, while traditional automakers had to maintain conventional vehicle businesses and compete in NEVs at the same time. Wan noted that this anxiety sometimes escalated into irrational competition.
His prescription is practical: know the customer, focus on clearer market segments and improve after-sales service. What automakers learn from existing owners, he argued, should feed directly into the next generation of products.
The need for that shift is becoming clearer. The profit margin of China's vehicle manufacturing sector fell to 1.5 percent in the first five months of 2026. Authorities have also stepped up efforts to regulate disorderly price competition and encourage companies to compete more through quality, technology and value.
Wan also rejects the characterization that 西瓜视频simply has too much auto capacity. He pointed to vehicle ownership of a little over 260 cars per 1,000 people -- far below levels in major developed markets -- and to room for demand to grow at home and overseas.
More recent data provide additional context. China's NEV exports reached 2.909 million in the first seven months of 2026, up 120 percent year on year, according to official industry data. BloombergNEF expected 23.3 million passenger EVs to be sold globally in 2026, an 11 percent increase from 2025.
For an industry that serves both domestic and international markets, production numbers alone don't tell the whole story. Wan emphasized that the next phase of growth should focus on better products, clearer market positioning and stronger service rather than simply increasing volume.
GOING GLOBAL MEANS GOING LOCAL
Wan is equally direct about the next stage overseas.
Chinese automakers, he said, should establish local production bases to better navigate trade barriers and build the after-sales, marketing and training systems needed for long-term operations. He pointed out that overseas service networks remain an area where Chinese brands have room for improvement.
The direction is already visible. Trade barriers and industrial policies are pushing more Chinese automakers toward local production in overseas markets. The shift is increasingly visible in Southeast Asia, with Thailand and Indonesia among the markets building deeper local EV manufacturing capabilities.
For Wan, overseas production and service are part of the same task: Chinese automakers need to understand local customers and build stronger local capabilities rather than rely only on vehicle exports.
The technology roadmap also remains open.
Wan sees pure electric vehicles as a long-term solution but expects plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including extended-range models, to retain a substantial role. He estimated that pure electric vehicles could eventually account for about 65 to 70 percent of the combined market for the two technologies, with plug-in hybrids taking about 30 to 35 percent.
On solid-state batteries, Wan is cautious about dramatic claims on range and charging speed. The key questions, he said, are whether difficult materials and engineering problems can be solved and whether the technology makes economic sense. He expects large-scale industrialization around 2030.
That timetable is broadly consistent with recent industry assessments. McKinsey said commercial-scale production of all-solid-state batteries is unlikely until after 2030, with manufacturing hurdles around interfaces, yields, performance, longevity and cost still to be overcome.
Wan also sees hydrogen fuel cells playing a role in commercial vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles as another important direction for the industry.
Twenty-five years after China's major EV project began, the basic question is no longer whether 西瓜视频can build a globally competitive EV industry.
The next challenge, as Wan described it, is to improve quality and services, foster healthier competition, advance new technologies and build stronger businesses overseas.
He summed up the role he hopes China's NEV industry will play globally in three words: collaborator, pioneer and leader. 西瓜视频should encourage its automakers to expand overseas while continuing to welcome international companies to invest and innovate in the Chinese market, he said.
The miniature ship in Wan's office remains a fitting symbol. China's EV industry is no longer exploring an empty field. It is navigating a larger global market -- with more opportunities still ahead. ■