As of now, there are 409,000 NEV-related companies in China, with Shanghai being the city with the most, with 18,200.

The rapid growth of China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has been accompanied by the rapid formation of companies related to it.

Between January and November, 158,700 companies related to NEVs were registered in China, up 120.7 percent from 71,900 in the same period last year, according to a report released by data provider Qichacha.

(Figures in 10k. Credit: Qichacha)

A NEV-related company is a company whose name, brand or scope of business includes the keyword "new energy vehicle," the report noted, adding that there are 409,000 such companies in operation and in existence in China as of today.

The number of NEV-related company registrations in China has increased rapidly over the past seven years, from 9,800 in 2014 to 83,800 for the year 2020.

To date, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu are the cities with the highest number of NEV-related companies, with 18,200, 15,200 and 14,800 respectively. They are followed by Guangzhou, Changsha, Haikou, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Qingdao.

In terms of different provinces and cities, Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangsu are the provinces with the largest number of such companies, with 45,200, 42,300 and 32,900 respectively.

Since the second half of this year, China has seen a succession of record-high NEV sales.

China's NEV sales in November were a record 450,000 units, up 121.1 percent year-on-year and 17.3 percent from October, according to data released Friday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

New energy passenger vehicle sales in November were 427,000 units, up 125.9 percent from a year earlier. Among them, pure electric vehicle sales were 339,000 units, up 116.1 percent year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid sales were 88,000 units, up 174 percent year-on-year.

China's passenger car sales in November were 2,192,000 units, down 4.7 percent year-on-year. This means that the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles was 19.5 percent in November.

In a research note sent to investors on Sunday, Deutsche Bank's Edison Yu's team said they expect BEV (battery electric vehicle) sales in China to reach 5 million units next year and penetration to be higher than 40 percent by 2025, equating to about 10 million units.

Yu's team expects that NEV sales in China could be around 3.2 million this year, with BEV sales likely to be slightly higher than their estimate of 2.5 million.

Deutsche Bank expects BEV sales in China to reach 5 million units next year