CHINA, BRAZIL AND THE ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Abstract

In this article we will discuss about the chinese presence in the national automobile sector, under the light of dependency theory. After a brief presentation of the dependentist field, we will characterize current relations between Brazil and China and focus on the global trend of energy decarbonization, which impacts several niches, such as the automobile industry. Our central objective is to analyze the current national scenario, which is going through an energy transition process, although timid when compared to other regions of the world, but important enough to attract the presence of two chinese giants, the BYD and the GWM, responsible for huge investments in the production of electric and electrified cars on national soil, and forcing other traditional and consolidated automakers, such as General Motors and Volkswagen, to follow the same path. In the end, we will try to gather the necessary conditions to understand the reasons for China’s commitment to the national automotive energy transition.