On January 15th, at the Fifth China-UK Electric Vehicle Innovation Forum, Jonathan Rayner, Executive Vice President of Product Engineering of Jaguar Land Rover China and Asia-Pacific Region, stated that China is actively engaged in three core areas of new energy vehicle batteries, electronic power and electric drive devices. Gaining an advantage, in the future, under the influence of the Brexit trade rules, Chinese suppliers' investment in European factories will become a new trend.

    Jonathan Rayner believes that electric vehicles will be the perfect means of transportation for big cities in China. They are fast and economical. They benefit from the government’s formulation of future goals, including battery energy density, cruising range, and energy consumption. The requirements of indicators have boosted the development of the industry. China is gaining advantages in the three core areas of batteries, electronic power and electric drive devices.

    Jonathan Rayner said that many foreign OEMs have invested heavily in production and procurement in China, but the new Brexit trade rules may have a very large impact on this. According to trade rules, the maximum proportion of non-EU vehicle components is set at 45%, and there is a separate proportion requirement for batteries. By 2027, only 35% of components can be purchased from outside the UK or the EU.

    Therefore, the next logical step for the Chinese suppliers of these key components, including batteries, electronic power and electric drives, is to invest in the UK or Europe. The current trend has emerged. Honeycomb Energy has already invested in Germany. CATL and BYD have also expressed similar plans. This will be an ideal area for cooperation between China and the UK.