South Korean media: "Even Japanese cars have been surpassed," Chinese automobiles conquer the European market!
On July 29, South Korea's Korea Economic Daily published an article stating that Chinese automobiles have for the first time overtaken Japanese ones in the European auto market. Driven by Chinese electric vehicles such as BYD, sales of Chinese cars have surged dramatically in Europe. Despite the European Union imposing additional tariffs on Chinese EVs, Chinese automakers continue to expand their market share by maintaining price competitiveness.
According to new vehicle sales data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) for May, five major Chinese automakers achieved a combined total sales volume of 138,410 units across 31 key European countries—a 65% year-on-year increase. These five companies are BYD, SAIC Motor, Zhejiang Geely, Chery Automobile, and the emerging EV company Zeekr.
In contrast, sales of six Japanese automakers—Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Honda, and Mitsubishi—declined by 3%, totaling only 130,424 units. Chinese manufacturers' sales exceeded those of Japanese companies by approximately 6%. In May, market share in Europe was led by China (12%), followed by Japan (11%) and South Korea (8%).
BYD has been the core force behind the rapid rise of Chinese automakers. According to company statistics, from January to June this year, BYD’s overseas passenger vehicle sales reached 789,367 units, up 70% year-on-year. By June, overseas sales accounted for 44% of its total passenger vehicle sales—up 20 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
Recently, Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of BYD, stated: “We expect overseas sales to exceed 1.6 million units by 2026.” This would represent more than a 1.5-fold increase over last year’s overseas sales of 1.04 million units.
In May alone, BYD’s plug-in hybrid vehicle sales in the 31 main European countries grew 2.4 times year-on-year.
The reason Chinese companies are targeting the European market lies in the restart of electric vehicle subsidy policies. Although Germany ended its EV subsidies at the end of 2023, it reinstated the program in January this year, offering consumers up to €6,000 in subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Sweden has also resumed its previously suspended subsidies for low-income groups, while Italy has expanded the scope of its incentives.
On the other hand, despite Japanese automakers’ highly competitive fuel efficiency in hybrid vehicles, their limited electric vehicle product lines prevent them from fully leveraging government EV subsidy programs. Viatrix Kaim, a researcher at the German Automotive Research Center, noted: “When European consumers consider buying an electric vehicle, Japanese cars are simply not in the running.”
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872032996771868/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.