NINGDE, China — As the global pandemic hit, the world’s biggest maker of electric car batteries, a Chinese company now worth more than General Motors and Ford combined, suddenly faced its own crisis.
A rival had released a video suggesting that a technology used by the company, CATL, and other manufacturers could cause car fires. Imitating a Chinese government safety test, the rival had driven a nail through a battery cell, one of many in a typical electric car battery. The cell exploded in a fireball.
Chinese officials took swift action — by dropping the nail test, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The new regulation, released two months later, listed who had drafted it: First on the list, ahead of the government’s own vehicle testing agency, was CATL.
The shift did not expose the world to unsafe batteries — other countries do not require a nail test — but it showed China’s commitment to nurturing a corporate champion with a strong and growing sway over the future of driving. CATL has given China a commanding lead in electric car batteries, a technology central to the broader green revolution. The company already supplies batteries to almost all of the world’s automakers, including G.M., Volkswagen, BMW and Tesla. CATL has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the electric car boom, along with Tesla.
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The battery giant stands as a crucial link in a green-technology supply chain increasingly dominated by China. Chinese companies, particularly CATL, have secured vast supplies of the raw materials that go inside the batteries. That dominance has stirred fears in Washington that Detroit could someday be rendered obsolete, and that Beijing could control American driving in the 21st century the way that oil-producing nations sometimes could in the 20th.
Chinese government officials made sure CATL’s business stayed in Chinese hands. They created a captive market of battery customers. And when CATL needed money, they doled it out.
“CATL definitely seems like it’s the concept and creation of a master plan,” said Michael Dunne, a former G.M. executive in Asia and now an analyst.
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CATL isn’t government owned, according to its filings, but investors with connections to Beijing have held stakes during its rise, according to a Times analysis of its filings. So did a Chinese investment firm that counted Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, as a board member and shareholder.
From Detroit to Milan to Wolfsburg, Germany, auto executives who spent their careers trying to perfect pistons and fuel-injection systems are now obsessing about how to compete with a nearly invisible yet formidable industry giant.
“China’s problem with internal combustion engines was they were forever playing the game of catch-up,” said Bill Russo, a former chief of Chrysler in China who is now a Shanghai electric car consultant. “Now, the United States has to play the game of catch-up with electric vehicles.”
Emerging From the Shadows
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While Tesla and its garrulous chairman, Elon Musk, have epitomized the electric car boom, CATL — its legal name in English is Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited — has stayed in the shadows.
Race to the Future
The Times is examining the global transition away from oil and the scramble for resources that will power the clean energy economy.
- Tesla’s Ambitions:A mine in the South Pacific is a key testing ground for the electric vehicle maker’s efforts to sustainably source minerals.
- A National Reinvention: How do you rewrite a constitution for the climate change era? Chile is the world’s first country to try.
- Tribes on Edge: Mining for America’s future, or another blow to tribal rights and resources? A battle is growing across the West.
- Global Rivalries:The competition for cobalt, a key ingredient in electric cars,has set off a power struggle between China and the U.S. in Congo.
- Corporate Champion: With the blessing of Beijing, a Chinese company became among the biggest suppliers of electric car batteries in the world.
Its founder and chairman, Robin Zeng, is one of the wealthiest men in Asia, with a fortune of about $60 billion. Its towering headquarters, shaped like an oversize lithium battery, and several of its biggest factories are in his hometown, Ningde, a former fishing village and military base in southeastern China. The municipal government has locked down access to a wide array of documents, particularly from the early days of CATL.
Mr. Zeng, 53, has built a senior management team of longtime employees, many of whom grew up in Ningde. For gifts during holidays, CATL sends lychee and loquat fruit grown on Ningde’s outskirts.
Xi Jinping, now China’s top leader, was the local Communist Party chief in Ningde from 1988 to 1990, though he shares no apparent connection with CATL.
After studying marine engineering at a Shanghai university, Mr. Zeng went to work on battery chemistry for TDK, a Japanese company, in China. In 1999, he joined fellow battery chemistry experts who set up their own company supplying lithium-cobalt batteries for mobile phones, camcorders and other portable consumer electronics. The team sold the company to TDK in 2005 for $100 million and continued to run it as a subsidiary.
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The Chinese government, which has long identified batteries as a strategic industry, in 2011 took one of several steps to nurture a homegrown industry. It required that foreign automakers that want to sell electric cars in China transfer crucial technology to a local company. Only then would the government subsidize the sale of their autos, which could amount to up to $19,300 for car buyers.
TDK allowed a group of Chinese investors led by Mr. Zeng to acquire an 85 percent stake in its nascent electric car battery business at the end of 2011. They called it CATL. BMW, its first main customer, switched from A123, a battery supplier in Massachusetts and Michigan.
Four years later, a different group of Chinese investors bought the remaining 15 percent from TDK.
The financial terms of the sale aren’t clear, but Mr. Zeng and his partners reaped a windfall. TDK now has a market capitalization of $16 billion. CATL? Almost $240 billion.
TDK referred questions to CATL, which, in turn, said only TDK could discuss how much had been paid.
Beijing’s Helpful Hand
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Beijing’s rules helped CATL emerge as an independent company. Then, Beijing helped the company soar.
What we consider before using anonymous sources. How do the sources know the information? What’s their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source.
Learn more about our process.
CATL’s batteries require ready supplies of lithium and cobalt. Chinese firms have rushed to secure cobalt in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where huge deposits were once mined by an American company. This year, CATL acquired a quarter of the Kisanfu cobalt reserve, one of the world’s richest, in Congo for $137.5 million.
Mr. Zeng has also secured raw materials close to home.
Corporate records show that within a year of setting up CATL, Mr. Zeng had started a subsidiary in western China’s Qinghai Province. Qinghai had something that Mr. Zeng needed: dried-out salt lake beds with thick underground brine laden with lithium. The government wanted development in the country’s poorer western regions. CATL locked in contracts for the most lithium-rich deposits, people familiar with the company said.
The Chinese government helped. In 2015, it unveiled the Made in China 2025 plan, a guide to achieving independence in major industries of the future, including electric cars, in a decade.
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Chinese policy banks, which lend to government-endorsed projects that may be too risky for local banks, stepped in to provide more than $100 million to CATL projects in Qinghai, documents show. The provincial government of Qinghai offered roughly $33 million from 2015 through 2017, CATL filings showed. The Qinghai government did not respond to requests for comment.
In a written reply to questions, CATL said its investments “guarantee the stability of raw material supply, and avoid sharp price fluctuations.”
CATL benefited greatly from the government’s drive to get automakers in China to use only locally made batteries.
The government soon said electric car buyers could get subsidies only if the battery was made by a Chinese company. G.M., which had not been notified of the rule, started shipping Buick Velite electric cars in 2016 with batteries made in China by LG, a South Korean company.
Angry consumers and dealers complained that local officials were denying them subsidies, people familiar with the episode said. G.M. switched heavily to CATL for the huge Chinese market.
With subsidies and a protected home market, CATL became extremely profitable. The auto industry considers after-tax profit margins of at least 5 percent of sales a success. CATL’s margin last year was 11.1 percent. Despite that profitability, the company continued to collect government subsidies last year equal to a fifth of its net income.
The effort has also made China a giant in electric car batteries. China has 14 times the electric car battery-making capacity of the United States, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a London consulting firm. It projects that China will keep the lead even after an American buildup, including projects like the planned North Carolina plant announced in early December by Toyota, and would have seven times the United States’ capacity in four years.
Betting on Batteries
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CATL’s initial public offering in 2018 made Mr. Zeng and two CATL vice chairmen, who together own a 40 percent stake, rich. Other early investors, some with deep political connections, did well, too.
The company’s success was never assured, but China had let the world know that it planned to dominate the electric vehicle industry. It said in a sweeping announcement in 2016 that a “third industrial revolution” focusing on digitization and “new energy” would allow China to take the lead in autos.
CATL invited a few outside investors to take pre-I.P.O. stakes. Among them were Pei Zhenhua, a businessman who set up a lithium processing company with CATL, and Yu Yong, the biggest individual shareholder in China Molybdenum, a CATL partner in Congo. Mr. Yu’s holding company controls 1.69 percent of CATL, records show.
One investment fund, Guokai Boyu, invested more than $100 million and held a 1.2 percent stake. Guokai Boyu is controlled by a private equity firm co-founded by Alvin Jiang, a grandson of Jiang Zemin, China’s former Communist Party chief. The fund didn’t respond to requests for comment.
One of the fund’s partners in that investment was an affiliate of a financial company called National Trust. National Trust in the past teamed with the family of Wen Jiabao, the former premier, in other investments. It was partly owned by one close Wen family business associate and overseen by another. It isn’t clear whether the Wen family had a financial stake in CATL. National Trust’s phone rang unanswered, and the company didn’t respond to faxed questions.
An even earlier investor in CATL was a Chinese private equity company connected to Hunter Biden, the American president’s son.
The firm, known as BHR, bought a 0.4 percent stake in 2016, paying roughly $15 million. In 2019, when BHR applied to sell the stake, it was valued at roughly $76 million.
Mr. Biden left BHR’s board in April 2020, according to Chinese corporate records, and no longer has any ownership interest in BHR, Chris Clark, his lawyer, said.
It isn’t clear what, if anything, Mr. Biden gained from the CATL deal, and Mr. Clark declined to comment further. Another BHR board member — who, like Mr. Biden, controlled a 10 percent stake in the firm — received a payout of about $230,000 from the deal, said the board member, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss internal business. Jonathan Li, BHR’s chief executive, didn’t respond to phone calls and emailed questions.
When asked about the investments, CATL referred to its I.P.O. prospectus, saying, “All investors acquired their shares based on common rules for private equity fund-raising activities.”
Help With a Fire
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CATL holds one-third of the global electric-car-battery market. Its biggest rival globally is LG, with a one-quarter share. At one time, CATL also faced a tough rival at home.
BYD, based in the city of Shenzhen, boasted a big-name backer, the investor Warren E. Buffett. Unlike CATL, which has invested heavily in lithium-cobalt batteries, BYD bet on traditional lithium batteries.
Last year, BYD questioned the safety of cobalt batteries. It produced the video of a test resembling one used by Chinese regulators until recently to determine the safety of a battery cell by pounding a nail through it.
BYD declined to identify the manufacturer. The cell’s lithium-cobalt chemistry was similar to that used by CATL as well as South Korean companies.
Chinese regulators have not responded to requests for comment about why they dropped the nail test two months later. They replaced it with a test of whether an entire battery can contain a fire for five minutes — similar to what other countries do. CATL said that what counts is the safety provided by its entire battery system.
BYD is now exploring production of its own lithium-cobalt batteries. But CATL is also manufacturing more batteries now without cobalt, a metal sometimes called the “blood diamond of batteries” because of its high price and the perilous working conditions Congo’s miners face.
“We are looking for ways to improve the supply chain,” Mr. Zeng told investors last year.
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For now, CATL is building a vast factory more than three times the size of Tesla and Panasonic’s electric car battery gigafactory in the Nevada desert. CATL’s giant factory in Fuding, a 90-minute drive northeast of downtown Ningde, is one of eight that CATL now has under construction, at a cost of more than $14 billion. The company has mustered small armies of construction workers to put up 50-foot-high, steel-walled buildings longer than five football fields.
Yu Bin, a cement worker in Fuding, said he had worked 20 hours straight recently to finish a roof. “The lights on the cranes,” he said, “lit up the night.”
Keith Bradsher reported from Ningde, and Michael Forsythe from New York. Li You and Cao Li contributed research.
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FAQs
Who is dominating the electric car industry? ›
Tesla is still dominating the US electric car market, now with a 68% market share.
Why is China the largest EV market? ›China is at the forefront of the EV revolution and the world must catch up. Desires for improved air pollution, energy independence, and global leadership in strategic clean-tech industries are the main drivers of China's electric vehicle market development.
Who dominates the EV market in China? ›BYD led China's EV market, followed by Wuling, Tesla, Chery and GAC Group. Top 10 EV models in China accounted for more than 44% of the country's total Q2 2022 EV sales.
Who makes most of the batteries for electric cars? ›Combined, CATL, LG Energy Solution, BYD, and Panasonic make up more than 70 percent of the global market share of automotive battery sales in the first six months of 2022, with a total of 143.6 gigawatt hours worth of batteries sold.
Which country has the largest EV market? ›China has nearly 300 EV models available for purchase, more than any other country, and it's also home to four of the world's 10 largest battery manufacturers. Moreover, the median price of electric cars in China is just 10% more than conventional cars, compared to 45-50% on average in other major markets.
Why are people against electric cars? ›The most common reasons drivers avoid EVs include fear the battery will run out of charge before reaching their destination, also known as “range anxiety,” fear of too few charging stations, long charge times, and initial higher upfront vehicle costs.
Is China Leading in electric cars? ›China has the largest and fastest-growing EV market in the world: 2.4 million EVs were delivered to customers in mainland China in H1 2022, equating to 26% of all car sales in China. In the first half of 2021, electric cars only made up 10% of China's car sales, meaning the demand doubled in one year.
Who owns the battery in an electric car? ›Most batteries are now included in the purchase price of an EV, but in the early days of electric cars, in the Noughties, some manufacturers would sell you the car but lease the battery separately. Renault was one brand that did this, but this system has almost universally stopped now.
What percentage of car batteries are made in China? ›China produced 44 percent of the world's EVs in the last decade and around 80 percent of the world's lithium-ion batteries. In the short term, that share is projected to rise.
Why are EVs so popular in China? ›Many Chinese customers can easily adapt to EVs because they have no prior car ownership experience and therefore there is no 'switching cost' involved. In contrast, the consumers in the western countries have years of experience driving internal combustion engine cars which makes them slow to change their behavior.
Does China have a monopoly on lithium? ›
China dominates the global supply chain for lithium-ion batteries. Now rival countries are scrambling for more control over “white oil.”
What is the best selling EV in China? ›The Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV is China's absolute best-selling electric vehicle, topping Tesla and everyone else in sales. When you compare it to one of the most affordable EVs stateside, the nearly $28,000 Nissan Leaf, it's easy to see why.
Who is the leader in EV battery technology? ›Global sales of EV batteries surged around 77% to 41.4 gigawatt hours during March from a year earlier, the SNE data out Monday showed. CATL sold 14.9 gigawatt hours of batteries, versus LG Energy's 7.7 gigawatt hours and BYD's 4.2 gigawatt hours.
Does China make batteries for electric cars? ›SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) will start mass production next year of its latest generation product, with greater efficiency that lets electric cars drive longer distances on each charge, the company said on Thursday.
Where does Tesla get its lithium? ›Tesla buys lithium for its batteries directly from mines. In spring 2022, the company reportedly signed two significant contracts with Australian mining operators; specifically, the lithium-spodumene concentrate comes from Core and Liontown Resources. In addition, Tesla purchases lithium hydroxide from Ganfeng.
Who sells the most electric cars in the world? ›- Tesla: 310,411 and 21.6% share (vs 25%)
- SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 154,623 and 10.7% share (vs 17%)
- BYD: 144,203 and 10% share (vs 5%)
- Volkswagen Group: 98,455 and 6.8% share (vs 8%)
- Hyundai Motor Group: 81,744 and 5.7% share.
A battery pack is the most expensive component of an EV.
Why does Norway have so many electric cars? ›The percentage of electric cars in Norway is above 70%!
I think Norwegians follow them. Electricity in Norway is cheap because they produce enormous volumes of energy at a low cost. They produce so much energy that they export it to other European countries.
EV owners have experienced chronic problems with the display screens, exterior door lights, failing temperature sensors, mismatched paint, and seals and weatherstripping. It's not just that these problems occur, but that they occur at a higher rate than with conventional vehicles.
Why are electric cars bad for the economy? ›According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric vehicle requires six times the mineral inputs of a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE). EV batteries are very heavy and are made with some exotic, expensive, toxic, and flammable materials.
How long do electric car batteries last? ›
“Today, most EV batteries have a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years within the car – and a second life beyond.” It's also worth noting that EV battery technology is still evolving, so as tech develops we expect batteries' lifespan to increase – as well as becoming cheaper, smaller and even lighter.
Why are electric cars made in China? ›Unlike the internal combustion engine car market, the Chinese are better positioned than the West when it is about electric cars. They have bigger capacity and more support from the central government.
Does China manufacture any electric cars? ›There are, by some estimates, more than 300 Chinese companies making EVs, ranging from discount offerings below $5,000 to high-end models that rival Tesla and German automakers.
How many Chinese electric car companies are there? ›You're correct. China has about 450 EV manufacturer companies registered in the country and together they sold about $3 million in cars in 2021 alone. China definitely has the largest EV market in the world: in 2020 it nearly matched the number of cars sold in all of Europe.
Is there enough lithium in the world for electric cars? ›The IEA says the world could face lithium shortages by 2025. And Credit Suisse says lithium demand could treble between 2020 and 2025, meaning “supply would be stretched”. Campaign group Transport and Environment says there is only enough lithium to produce up to 14 million EVs in 2023, Reuters reports.
Who supplies batteries to Tesla? ›If you've ever wondered “Who makes Tesla batteries?”, the answer is chiefly Panasonic, although CATL is a key Tesla car battery manufacturer, due to the fact the two companies have agreed to produce lithium-ion batteries together at Tesla's second “battery megafactory” at Giga Shanghai.
Is lithium mining bad for the environment? ›Lithium mining destroys the soil structure and leads to unsustainable water table reduction. In the end, it depletes water resources, leaving the land too dry and exposing ecosystems to the risk of extinction.
Who controls the world supply of lithium? ›More than 80% of the world's raw lithium is mined in Australia, Chile, and China. And China controls more than half of the world's lithium processing and refining and has three-fourths of the lithium-ion battery megafactories in the world, according to the International Energy Agency.
Are any electric car batteries made in USA? ›manufactured by Tesla. The battery cells for the Tesla Model 3 are manufactured in the United States, while the battery cells for the other two models are produced in Japan.
Who is the largest manufacturer of lithium batteries? ›The China-based CATL was the leading lithium-ion battery maker in the first quarter of 2022 with a market share of 35 percent. The Korean LG Energy Solution ranked second with a market share of 15.9 percent, followed by BYD with a market share of 11.1 percent.
Who is the biggest EV producer in China? ›
The shutting down of Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai has dragged down its production and sales, giving way to China-based auto giant BYD to top the charts.
Who makes the most electric cars in China? ›1. BYD. BYD is China's top EV manufacturer: The Guangzhou-based conglomerate had a 27.9% market share in China from January to May.
What percentage of Chinese cars are electric? ›Chinese electric vehicle sales have hit 31 percent of the overall market, with 25 percent being pure EVs, a substantial growth year-over-year.
Where does America get lithium from? ›Where are there lithium mines in the U.S.? Although lithium can be found all over the United States, there is only one operating mine in the country: the Albemarle Silver Peak Mine in Nevada. This mine uses the brine extraction method to pull lithium deposits from under the earth's surface.
Why is lithium important to China? ›China dominates in materials refinement and battery production. “It refines 60% of the world's lithium, controls 77% of global battery cell capacity and 60% of the world's battery component manufacturing,” wrote Gavekal's researchers. “Of 200 battery mega-factories in the pipeline to 2030, 148 are in China.”
Does the United States have lithium? ›The U.S. holds about 8 million tons of lithium, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, putting it in the top five most lithium-rich countries in the world. Yet it mines and processes only 1 percent of global output. Much of the rest comes from China, Chile and Australia.
Who is the biggest competitor of Tesla? ›Who Are Tesla's Top 3 Competitors? Ford, GM, NIO, and Volkswagen are four of Tesla's main competitors. China's BYD, sold over 590,000 vehicles in 2021 and is a contender. Another Chinese company, SGMW, sold over 450,000 EVs in 2021.
What is the number 1 selling electric car? ›In terms of all-electric car registrations, Tesla remains the king (over 564,000), but its market share decreased by another few percent to 19%. That's still a lot - almost one in five new BEVs globally. However, BYD again shines with over 326,000 units and doubled market share year-over-year to 11%.
Which Chinese electric car has the longest range? ›CATL, the world's biggest EV-battery maker, unveiled a new battery technology that it claims can deliver more than 620 miles of driving range. The longest-range electric car in the US, the Lucid Air sedan, can travel 520 miles between charges. CATL's new battery goes into production next year.
Who has best battery technology? ›- Panasonic.
- BYD. ...
- Samsung SDI. ...
- SKI. ...
- CALB. ...
- Grepow. ...
- AESC. ...
- EVE. Described as one of the most inventive EV battery manufacturers in the industry, EVE has continually overcome some of the most challenging technical problems in the car battery industry again and again. ...
What company is making the new super battery? ›
QuantumScape has already shown successful test data for super small versions of its solid-state batteries. The company will continue to scale those tests to bigger and bigger batteries. Soon enough, the company will have solid-state batteries that work and are big enough to power an electric car.
What will replace lithium car batteries? ›- Aluminum. Aluminum is a readily available resource and one of the most recyclable materials. ...
- Salt. Salt is very similar to lithium in terms of its chemical make-up. ...
- Iron. ...
- Silicon. ...
- Magnesium. ...
- Hemp.
China is by far the leader in the battery race with nearly 80% of global Li-ion manufacturing capacity. The country also dominates other parts of the battery supply chain, including the mining and refining of battery minerals like lithium and graphite.
What countries make electric car batteries? ›Currently, electric cars are made with lithium-ion batteries, the lithium for which is primarily mined from China, Bolivia, and Argentina. A study of lithium-ion battery supply chain ranking in 2020 declared China as the dominant producer of EV batteries, but they're not the only contenders in the race.
What country makes EV batteries? ›"China Dominates the Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain, but Europe Is on the Rise." BloombergNEF, 2020. Ulrich, Lawrence. "The Top 10 EV Battery Makers." IEEE Spectrum, 2021.
What country is rich in lithium? ›Where is lithium available from? With 8 million tons, Chile has the world's largest known lithium reserves. This puts the South American country ahead of Australia (2.7 million tons), Argentina (2 million tons) and China (1 million tons).
What company is making a forever battery? ›In late 2021, QuantumScape illustrated that its forever battery performed in 4-layer formats up to 800 charging cycles. A quarter later, the company scaled successful results to 10-layer batteries up to 800 cycles.
How are electric cars changing the industry? ›EV sales grew by 85% from 2020 to 2021, while sales of PHEVs more than doubled, with an increase of 138% over the previous year. The rapid growth in plug-in electric vehicle sales from 2020 to 2021 is remarkable in the context of overall light-duty vehicle sales, which increased by only 3% during the same period.
How are electric vehicles impacting the auto industry? ›The impact that a 30% adoption of electric vehicles by 2030 would have on a country's carbon footprint would be immense. The goal is set at committing our economy to a 1 billion tonnes reduction in projected carbon emissions by the year 2030.
What is the automotive industry? ›The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles.
What is the biggest challenge with electric vehicles? ›
Charging Infrastructure. Consumers and fleets considering all-electric vehicles need access to charging stations, also known as EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment). For most drivers, this starts with charging at home or at fleet facilities. However, it can be challenging as every one may not have access to an EVSE ...
Why electric cars will be the future? ›Car buyers are ready to do their bit for the environment by shifting to EVs, which have zero tailpipe emissions, and which will ultimately help save our environment from smog and climate change. This is a great initiative toward reducing the ecological damage and boosting public health.
Which is the most expensive component of an electric car? ›A battery pack is the most expensive component of an EV.
What are the problems with electric cars? ›- Their batteries need rare metals. ...
- Making electric cars creates more emissions. ...
- They are only as green as their power sources. ...
- Electric cars can be expensive to buy. ...
- You can't drive as far in an electric car. ...
- There aren't enough charging points.
California made it official last week — the state will ban sales of gasoline-powered new cars after 2035. Gov.
Why are electric vehicles becoming more popular? ›New consumers are also paying attention to reports of maintenance-free cars that are ultimately a lot cheaper than their gas-powered counterparts. In fact, lower long terms costs is one of the top reasons consumers choose EVs.
What is the future of car technology? ›When it comes to future car design, technology is the biggest driver behind new car models. Major trends show that cars of the future will be electric, autonomous, connected and sleek. In just a few years' time, vehicles on the road could look nothing like they do today.
Who is the biggest automotive company in the world? ›| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Toyota | Japan |
| #2 | Volkswagen | Germany |
| #3 | Daimler | Germany |
| #4 | Ford Motor | United States |