Foreign carmakers from Volkswagen to General Motors (GM) and Nissan are fighting back in mainland China as they unveiled new electric vehicle (EV) models at the Auto Shanghai trade show, after losing their share to local rivals in the world’s largest automotive market.
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The carmakers are banking on Chinese EV technologies to make their products “more electric and intelligent” so they can ramp up deliveries and catch up with indigenous brands that have seized more than 90 per cent of the EV segment over the past decade.
More than a dozen new EV models displayed by the global automotive giants at the auto show featured the latest Chinese technologies including batteries, digital cockpits and preliminary autonomous driving. The trade show, the world’s largest of its kind, opened on April 23 and will conclude on Friday.
“They still have strong interest in this market [as] there is no alternative to the Chinese market,” said Carlo Diego D’Andrea, chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce’s Shanghai chapter. “The things that [they] can do is keep investing and try to be part of the success story.”
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Global carmakers cede world’s largest auto show to Chinese EVs
Global carmakers cede world’s largest auto show to Chinese EVs
Foreign manufacturers including VW, GM, Toyota and BMW have been losing their market share to domestic rivals since 2020 as Chinese consumers embrace pure-electric and plug-in hybrid cars from BYD, Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng amid state-driven efforts to boost clean energy and reduce emissions.
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Chinese EV makers grew by leaps and bounds, buoyed by government subsidies and consumers’ willingness to embrace new technologies, eclipsing their foreign rivals in terms of manufacturing and design heft. The market share of foreign car brands fell to 40 per cent in 2024 from 50 per cent in 2023, the China Passenger Car Association said.