1、Equity Research 8 February 2022China Technology China Electric Vehicles: Not Just Brawn, But Brain Too - Initiate LI, NIO and XPEV at OW We are initiating coverage of leading Chinese EV makers with Overweight ratings. EVs and Smart Cars are among Chinas top national priorities and the TAM is not jus
2、t China but the global auto market. We believe that the rapid adoption of EVs around the world and booming EV sales have presented Chinas EV makers a rare opportunity to not only take a sizable market share of the domestic auto market the largest in the world with about 25-30% global share by units
3、sold per annum but also build a dominant position on the world stage. It is a national priority for China to develop cutting-edge EV and autonomous driving technologies, and to export competitive EVs around the world, as Chinese smartphone manufacturers have done in recent years. Several leading EV
4、makers have already started selling their products in Europe. Not only is China the worlds largest auto market, its auto industry accounts for over one-third of the global automotive profit pool. The enormous domestic profits available incentivize Chinas EV makers to invest heavily both in technolog
5、ies and in manufacturing capacity in order to stay ahead of the pack. In addition, the highly developed EV component supply chain in China enables EV start-ups to scale quickly. Compared to many countries in the world, including the US, China has one of the most supportive and well-thought-out gover
6、nment policy agendas for the EV industry. Measures such as qualified subsidies for EV purchases (low-quality EVs excluded), sales taxes waivers, free and readily available “green” license plates, as well as a national carbon credit system for all auto makers, EV or ICE, have been instrumental in hel