Hyperdrive
Deserted Factories Show How China Electric Car Boom Went Too Far
- At least a dozen EV makers bankrupt, restructured in past year
- Sector favored by Beijing seeing ‘classic capitalist shakeout’
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Visitors to Byton Ltd.’s website are greeted with color-saturated images of shiny electric cars gliding along manicured streets. Those paying a visit to the automaker’s factory in Nanjing, eastern China may be less impressed. The plant is modern and huge, gleaming under the hot summer sun. But there’s total silence. Production has been suspended since the pandemic began and there’s no one around except for a lone security guard.
It’s a similar situation across town at Bordrin Motors. Weeds dot the factory’s perimeter and there’s a court notice pasted to the main gate announcing the electric carmaker’s bankruptcy.