Korean Media: Up 61.5%, Chinese Cars Dominate Global Markets!

On June 22, South Korean media outlet "Today's Finance" published an article stating that after China surpassed Japan to become the world's largest auto exporter in 2023, it is now reshaping the global automotive industry landscape.

Chinese automakers such as BYD and Chery have rapidly transitioned to electric vehicles, capturing market share previously held by global giants like Volkswagen and Toyota in domestic markets, and are now intensifying their efforts overseas. After the Chery Tiggo 7 mid-size SUV launched in the UK, it sold 10,064 units in March alone—ranking first in monthly sales. This marks the first time a Chinese car has claimed the top spot in sales within the UK market.

In Europe, Chinese brands like BYD, Chery, Geely, and Zeekr—once barely known—are now rapidly expanding their market share.

From January to April this year, China’s automobile exports increased by 61.5% year-on-year, reaching 3.13 million units. Among them, electric vehicle (EV) exports reached 1.38 million units, up 115.7% year-on-year. EVs once again became the primary driver of export growth this year, similar to last year. Since surpassing Japan (4.42 million units) with 4.91 million units exported in 2023 to become the world’s top auto exporter, the gap between China and Japan continues to widen.

Both Chery and BYD set new monthly export records in April. Chery exported 177,600 units in April—a 102.4% increase year-on-year—with exports accounting for over 70% of total sales. BYD exported 134,500 units in April, up 70.9% year-on-year, representing more than 40% of its total sales. Exporting has become a key engine driving growth for Chinese automakers.

As Chinese automakers actively embrace electrification, the foothold of global players like Volkswagen and Toyota in China is shrinking. In April this year, domestic brand passenger vehicle market share in China reached 69.6%, nearly doubling from 35.7% in 2020. Meanwhile, foreign brand market share dropped sharply from 64.3% to just 30%—nearly halved. German brands fell from 25.5% to 13.3%; Japanese brands declined from 24.1% to 10.9%; American brands dropped from 9.4% to 4.5%.

Global automakers including Volkswagen and Toyota cannot escape declining performance, facing a double blow: plummeting sales in the Chinese market and increasingly fierce competition from Chinese companies overseas. Volkswagen has paused production at two of its ten German factories and launched a large-scale restructuring plan aiming to cut up to 50,000 jobs by 2030.

This year, Chinese EV manufacturers have significantly expanded their influence in South Korea. BYD fully entered the Korean market last year and had already surpassed 10,000 cumulative sales within just 11 months; Geely’s premium brand Zeekr is also actively expanding its presence in the domestic Korean market. The Chinese automotive industry is advancing overseas at “China speed.”

Original Article: toutiao.com/article/1868659183579148/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s).