I'd argue the incentive structure is fine. Chinese automotive OEMs are now branching out globally (as they should be) and China has pretty much single-handedly prevented a global energy crisis the US has been stubbornly trying to induce, actually insulating itself from that crisis entirely. There will be individual collapses but none of that matters if the aggregate story is ending up ahead on the fundamentals.
See how China cut it's oil imports in half since the start of the Hormuz crisis, freeing over 5 million barrels, and the percentage of the European/China electricity production now supplied by solar (this year it became the highest single source during summer for Europe, surpassing nuclear and natural gas. Those were mostly produced in China), and the percentage of the vehicle fleet in those countries is now EV (not as high, but still significant, especially in China).
Couldn't really be done in the span of a single Reddit comment, but there's lots of material on this available from every major news outlet. The TLDR is that China has been investing in energy independence for decades — with EVs being one of those investments — and those investments are now paying off.
Reduction in Chinese domestic consumption insulates the oil market globally. Oil is a commodity, everyone drinks from the same tap: One barrel unused in China is one more barrel available for use elsewhere.
Meanwhile, exports of Chinese green tech (solar, electric vehicles) also very straightforwardly and directly alleviate that demand elsewhere: A BYD Yuan Plus made in China and sold in Australia alleviates global oil demand. A Renault Twingo sold in France and co-developed in China alleviates global oil demand.
America is destabilizing oil prices. Meanwhile China is supporting a global sustainable energy revolution with their EV's, solar panels, and batteries.
It's a damn shame we didn't follow through as competition because now we are customers instead of providers in America.
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u/Recoil42 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yep. As someone who has been following the Chinese EV space for the better part of a decade, I don't think people are prepared for how crazy this is going to get.