The rise and rise of the Chinese plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market is unstoppable, with yet another record performance in December. A total of 102,000 new passenger PEVs were registered last month, up 130% year over year. Yes, that was just December, and it pulled the year-to-date count to over 600,000 units, up 71% compared to 2016. As consequence of this rapid growth, in December, the PEV share hit a record 3.3% market share of the entire Chinese auto market, while the

CHINA is aiming to become a world automaking powerhouse in a decade, vowing to boost development of new-energy vehicles and relax restrictions on foreign ownership in the auto industry. The country will strive to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies and markedly increase the share of Chinese brands in the international auto market by 2025, according to an auto industry development plan released yesterday by three government departments, including the Ministry of Industry

Considering these disparate pressures on costs, there is no easy formula that OEMs or suppliers can use to improve their return on capital. The solution will likely come from a combination of actions. Part of the answer lies in consolidation, which reduces industry capital requirements by eliminating competition and combining two manufacturing and design footprints into one. To a degree, these goals explain 2016’s robust supplier M&A volume, continuing the trend of the previo