Chinese carmakers retreat from record share of European sales

[LONDON] Chinese carmakers lost ground in Europe in October, slipping back from the record market share they captured a month earlier across the region. In the hybrid categories, where manufacturers such as BYD and Saic Motor’s MG have been on a tear, their share as a group fell around three percentage points to 12.6 per cent from September’s peak, according to researcher Dataforce.

New electric vehicle (EV) registrations, a core category for Chinese brands, declined to 11.8 from 12.6 per cent across the European Union, EFTA countries and the UK. The drop was mainly driven by lower sales in the UK, said Benjamin Kibies, a Dataforce analyst. In the rest of the market, Chinese shares continued to rise, he said. Despite the pullback, Chinese brands notched their second-best month on record, based on EV, hybrid and overall market share in the region. Chery Automobile and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology have registered exponential growth this year, offering affordable models and a range of drivetrains to suit consumer tastes. Chery has focused on cost-sensitive markets with its Omoda and Jaecoo brands, targeting countries such as Spain and Italy to expand in the region. Leapmotor is ramping up a venture with Fiat and Peugeot owner Stellantis, complementing its partner’s lineup with the battery-powered T03 hatchback. It’s now battling it out with BYD in markets such as Germany for EV dominance among Chinese brands. Leapmotor’s T03 has “significant potential” at just under 19,000 euros (S$28,571), according to Jato Dynamics consultant Daniele Ministeri. The manufacturer “brings many opportunities to Stellantis in terms of enhancing its know-how in new energy vehicles”, he said. September was a banner month for Chinese carmakers in Europe, who as a group surpassed South Korean brands such as Kia for the first time. They have grown their presence in the market steadily this year, branching out from pure-EV sales in many cases to capture surging demand for hybrid-electric models. BYD in particular has rapidly built its sales network, with a focus on the UK. Its strategy paid off in September, a seasonally strong month for sales in that market due to a twice-yearly license plate changeover. BLOOMBERG