Australians are buying more Chinese cars than ever, and a number of new brands are emerging that may have been of great concern to established manufacturers.
A wave of new-era Chinese cars could worry some of the world’s largest automakers.
Chinese car brands are growing in popularity in Australia and the next generation of vehicles are starting to hit the market overseas.
Manufacturers such as MG, LDV and Great Wall Motors are highlighting the new Australian sales charts this year.
MG sales are up 220 percent this year and it’s now one of the top ten best-selling brands. Lesser-known LDV and Great Wall Motors are up 110 and 285 percent, respectively.
They convince with inexpensive machines with long warranties and plenty of standard equipment.
Most customers wouldn’t know that Volvo is owned by Chinese auto giant Geely.
Volvo still designs and develops its vehicles in Sweden.
Volvo is a leader in electric vehicles and has recently launched several models in Europe.
The electric SUV XC40 Recharge has just come onto the market in Australia and will be supplemented by three other models in the near future.
Volvo also has an electric spin-off brand called Polestar.
The Polestar 2, the brand’s first vehicle, is scheduled to arrive in Australia later this year.
It’s a booting electric sedan that is similar in size to the Tesla Model 3.
The eye-catching Polestar 2, built in China, has a massive 11-inch touchscreen in the center of a vegan-friendly interior.
BYD is another manufacturer looking to make a name for themselves outside of China.
The production giant is slated to hit the Australian market in 2022 and even has a stream in the works.
BYD plans to launch a range of cars that will include at least two SUVs, a compact car, and a sports sedan.
The company has big plans to one day open a manufacturing facility south of Sydney together with its Australian import company Nexport.
Brands that are relatively unknown outside of mainland China are now being launched in Europe.
Xpeng and Nio are electric vehicle brands that want to make a name for themselves in emissions-oriented Europe.
Nio is the best known and was only founded in 2014. According to its stock price, Nio is now worth $ 58 billion ($ 80 billion), more than Ford.
And this despite the fact that Nio only sold around 43,000 vehicles in 2020.
That number is expected to increase as it expands from China to Europe, where gasoline and diesel vehicles will no longer be sold over the next several decades.
Nio’s first electric vehicle is the seven-seater ES8 SUV, which was recently launched in selected European countries and received good reviews.
It also has a solution to the charging time that hinders electric cars. The ES8’s battery can be replaced at special stations that are being built in five Norwegian cities, which reduces long charging times.
Xpeng is another Chinese electric car start-up facing major European expansion.
Xpeng has two vehicles, the P5 and P7, which are similar in size to the Tesla Model 3 and Model S.
In Europe, these vehicles are elegantly styled, fully equipped, have a generous range and are competitively priced compared to luxury competitors.
More EVs are in the works that are making some serious headlines.
The Byton M-Byte has a variety of screens, including a huge 48-inch display that runs the length of the dashboard.
This is roughly the same width as a 55-inch TV and would be viewed from a little over an arm’s length away.
There is a 7.0-inch display in the center of the steering wheel. This display seems to control several infotainment functions such as music, maps and air conditioning, among other things.
The emergence of Chinese electric car makers has some fears that Japanese and American automakers will be left behind.
European and Korean manufacturers are pushing to produce a wide range of exciting electric cars, but some Japanese brands like Toyota are lagging behind.
Toyota CEO Akio Toyodo recently told reporters that “carbon is our enemy, not the internal combustion engine,” and took a different stance from European manufacturers.
Toyoda says companies should leverage already deployed technologies like hybrids to reduce emissions and focus on reducing emissions from other industries.
The US automakers are also falling behind. Ford is the most advanced with its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and the F-150 Lightning coming out next year.