Battery power: how China could take charge of the electric vehicle market

The country's manufacturers are starting to dominate not just sales charts, but also supply chains for crucial materials

If you bought an electric vehicle in the UK this year, there's a good chance it was an MG4. The fully electric hatchback, which launched in 2022, sold 5,200 units in the first three months of this year, the second-best selling EV behind Tesla's Model Y.

With prices starting at about 27,000, it is also substantially cheaper than the Tesla at 45,000. And while MG is one of Britain's most famous car brands - with a century of carmaking in Birmingham until MG Rover's 2005 collapse - the secret to its newfound success comes from China. Since 2007, the company has been owned, and the cars made, by SAIC, China's largest carmaker.