In the early decades of the last century, there were far more manufacturers of automobiles than today. Many businessmen saw much potential in the ‘horseless carriage’ and with the internal combustion engine already developed, it was possible for anyone to make motorized vehicles. However, as the industry grew rapidly, smaller players faded away due to competition or were acquired by bigger ones and the number of carmakers became less.

Now, in the early decades of the 21^st century, we are seeing the same thing happening with electric vehicles (EVs). In a way, these are also ‘new’ inventions and many enterprising businessmen want to get into the business of making and selling them. However, where most of the companies 100 years ago were in America and Europe, there are now numerous big and small ones in China, the largest EV market in the world (2.4 million units sold in the first half of 2022).

The national policies of China have aggressively promoted ‘new energy vehicles’ (NEVs) – largely electric vehicles – boosting demand for such vehicles and creating economies of scale for businesses to develop and grow. And as in the early days of the automobile, investors see a lot of opportunity and are starting up. They are looking at new approaches to doing the business to gain advantage in an increasingly competitive market – and to attract the new generation of customers.

One such company is Apollo EV Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Apollo EV Pte. Ltd, an investment portfolio of China International Capital Corporation. Apollo EV Malaysia has ambitious plans over the next 4 years to grow its business to the point where it can be listed on the NASDAQ in the USA by 2025.