Chinese EV investment abroad nearly triples U.S. total

Chinese automakers have announced close to $101 billion in overseas electric vehicle and battery projects from 2019 to 2025, nearly tripling the roughly $38 billion invested abroad by U.S. companies over the same period, according to a report from Atlas Public Policy that underscores a widening gap in global clean energy manufacturing.gurufocus+2

A Widening Investment Gap

The report, titled "The Race for Clean Energy Leadership," tracked nearly $1.1 trillion in clean manufacturing projects across 54 countries involving more than 500 companies. Chinese firms accounted for 55 percent of all announced clean manufacturing investment globally, with 14 of the top 25 companies by investment headquartered in China. By contrast, only 19 U.S. companies have announced more than $1 billion in manufacturing investments, compared with 86 Chinese firms.atlaspolicy

CATL Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, the world's largest battery maker, leads all companies with more than $51.7 billion in announced investment. The company has expanded beyond its domestic base with large-scale projects in Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Indonesia. Its lithium-ion battery sales rose to 661 gigawatt hours in 2025, maintaining the world's largest market share at 39 percent for the ninth consecutive year. BYD, meanwhile, has announced factory investments in Hungary, Brazil, and Turkey, each projected to produce 150,000 vehicles.automotivemanufacturingsolutions+1

Saturated Market Drives Capital Abroad

The overseas push reflects intensifying competition and overcapacity at home. A separate Rhodium Group analysis found that in 2024, Chinese EV firms invested more abroad than domestically for the first time, a reversal after years of directing roughly 80 percent of capital to the home market. Chinese outbound foreign direct investment in the EV value chain surged to an annual average of $30.4 billion from 2022 to 2024, up from $8.5 billion between 2018 and 2021, according to Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 8.70%, citing Rhodium data. Domestic EV investment, meanwhile, plummeted from $94 billion in 2022 to just $15 billion in 2024.cnbc+3

In Europe, Chinese automotive investment totaled 5.2 billion euros in 2024, accounting for more than half of all Chinese foreign direct investment on the continent. Chinese investment in Europe then surged 67 percent to 16.8 billion euros in 2025, with 93 percent of automotive investment focused on the EV supply chain.geopoliticalfutures+1

U.S. Falls Behind

While China's overseas footprint expands, the United States is contracting. In 2025, 19 U.S. EV supply chain manufacturing projects representing $22 billion in planned investment were canceled, giving the country its first annual net negative clean energy investment since at least 2012. Atlas Public Policy noted that U.S. companies maintain "a small and shrinking clean manufacturing footprint outside of the United States".rhg+1

Chinese automakers are establishing production in both traditional auto manufacturing countries like Germany, Spain, and Mexico, and in emerging markets including Morocco, Indonesia, and Slovakia. At the same time, Chinese electric vehicle exports have continued to climb, reaching almost $76 billion on a twelve-month rolling basis through March 2026.atlaspolicy+1