Charged up at pole position

China's choices evolved, too, with the evolution of technologies themselves. The country chose lithium-iron battery technology in the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10). In the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), it plumped for the nickel manganese cobalt or NMC battery technology. This was followed by the NMC 811, the low-cobalt NMC battery, and the silicon-graphite anode, in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

Most of the Chinese battery manufacturers kept pace with the nation's choices over the years, said Kou.

Battery manufacturers in China, the world's largest EV market, have rapidly developed their capacities, cost advantages and supply chains in the last three years, thanks to the huge demand for batteries, said Kou.

Yet, excess capacity of low-end products on the one hand, and lack of adequate supply of high-end products on the other have created problems for the sector, he said.

"The industry is gradually switching to low-cobalt content NMC 811 batteries. But only a few Chinese battery manufacturers are able to mass-produce such batteries."

Another concern is, the majority of the battery manufacturers still rely solely on domestic EV automakers. Only China's Contemporary Amperex Technology has signed supply contracts with international automakers, he said.

According to Kou, with governmental subsidies decreasing and costs increasing, only a few battery companies will likely survive in the future.

"These companies should have a large enough capacity so that they could continuously bring down costs. They also need to maintain proper liquidity to absorb some sudden short-term market impact," he said.

"They should continue heavy investment in R&D (research and development) to keep up with their competitors."

To better facilitate the EV sector, utilities are also stepping up the construction of charging networks.