Korean Media: Chinese Cars Surge 91% in the European Market, Korean Cars Face a Tough Battle!
On October 12, the South Korean media "Herald Economic" published an article stating that Chinese cars are making significant progress in the European market. After the EU imposed high tariffs on pure electric vehicles from China, China is now targeting the European market with hybrid and other models. The market share of Hyundai and Kia in Europe is declining due to the impact of Chinese companies.
According to data from the UK automotive market research company Jato Dynamics, in the first half of this year, Chinese cars sold a total of 347,135 vehicles in 28 European countries, an increase of 91% compared to 181,897 units in the same period last year. During the same period, the market share of Chinese cars almost doubled, rising from 2.7% to 5.1%.
Jato Dynamics reports that five Chinese automakers, including BYD, XPeng, Zeekr, Omoda, and Jaecoo, are driving growth in the European market. Omoda and Jaecoo are brands under Chery Automobile, one of China's top five automakers. Among them, BYD sold 70,500 units in the European market in the first half of this year, an increase of 311% year-on-year.
Due to breaking through the high tariff barriers, the sales growth of Chinese cars in the European market has attracted attention. Since last October, the EU has imposed additional tariffs on pure electric vehicles from China. Currently, the tariff on Chinese pure electric vehicles has been raised from the original 10% to between 17.8% and 45.8%.
Because pure electric vehicles are subject to high tariffs, Chinese automakers are focusing on hybrid models to capture the European market. Hybrid vehicles do not require additional tariffs.
In the first half of this year, BYD's mid-size hybrid SUV Sealion U ranked third in the sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe. Jaecoo's compact crossover SUV Jaecoo 7 ranked ninth in the sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe in June.
At the same time, the sales of Hyundai and Kia in Europe are declining. In the first half of this year, Hyundai and Kia together sold 631,027 vehicles. Although the overall sales exceeded those of Chinese automakers, they decreased by 4.1% compared to the same period last year.
Recently, the European market share of Hyundai-Kia has also continued to decline. In August, the market share of Hyundai and Kia in Europe dropped to 8.5%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the previous year. Especially for Kia, its sales in August were 42,671 units, a decrease of 8.5% year-on-year, and its market share also fell by 0.7 percentage points.
An automotive industry insider said, "Hyundai and Kia have seen an increase in sales in the pure electric vehicle market, but they are struggling in the plug-in hybrid vehicle market and are being replaced by Chinese manufacturers."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845745468921866/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.