China is the new global cradle of electric cars, but is there a dark side behind this rapid growth? This is evidenced by the Youtuber Serpentza’s video below, which highlights a huge graveyard of new electric cars in China.

The quality of the video is not optimal, but it seems that from a distance you can distinguish models such as the Geely Kandi K10 EV, Neta V and other BYD e3s, cars that are not sold in Europe. These vehicles are parked in one of the districts of Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

State aid fraud?

The white paint appears dull from layers of dust, and the tires are partially covered with grass. Images of the interiors confirm that the cars are new, as some still have their seats packed and the screens shine as if covered in protective plastic. Most vehicles also have license plates.

But what does this strange graveyard of new cars hide? According to the Youtuber, it would be the result of a strategy by several manufacturers to benefit from government aid, get more funds and increase their sales. Thus, the manufacturers claim that they have sold these vehicles to get subsidies from the government.

Made for nothing?

“They produce them without doing market research, without looking at whether they are viable or not”, said the YouTuber. Some of the images that appear in the video date back more than two years, today we do not know where this famous graveyard of electric cars is, especially since The Chinese government’s tax incentives have largely decreasedand even completely disappeared.

In France, a similar case recently occurred with Autolib’ abandoned by thousands on a wasteland near Romoranten in the Loire-et-Cher (41). The only difference is that these machines served for several years, clearly the opposite of the Chinese models, which were made for completely different purposes.