Chinese electric cars rapidly expand market share in Europe

Chinese electric cars are gradually taking a larger market share in Europe thanks to the advantage in price, technology, replacement parts or new business approach.

According to data published by Inovev, a France-based car market analysis company, in the first six months of 2022, Chinese electric car manufacturers sold 75,000 units, almost equivalent to Sales for the whole of 2021 are 80,000 units.

Thanks to strong sales, China’s electric cars have risen to third in Europe, behind only big names such as Germany’s Volkswagen Group with 124,000 units and the US-France-Italy joint venture Stellantis. with 114,000 units. This is a remarkable number because just three years ago, Chinese electric cars accounted for only 0.6% of the market share in Europe.

According to Inovev, the most important factor driving European customers to increasingly prefer Chinese electric cars is the price issue. European consumers only need to spend nearly 31,000 euros to own the ZS electric car of the long-standing British MG brand but has been bought by China, compared to the amount spent to buy a European car. The same segment as the French Peugeot e-2008 costs more than 37,000 euros or the German Volkswagen ID.4 up to 43,000 euros. Chinese electric cars are always sold with attractive promotions, even up to 6,000 euros.

Another important reason comes from the fact that European and Korean manufacturers have always prioritized profit margins above quantity, and this inadvertently caused the low-cost electric car market to fall to China instead. country, especially in the segment of individuals or households who want to own an extra car.

In addition, other factors such as technology or battery recharge time of Chinese electric cars are gradually approaching the quality of French, German or Korean automakers. Chinese electric cars also do not have problems with replacement parts because they can be self-produced, especially the competitive advantage of batteries.

The changing tastes of buyers also help new brands such as the Lynk&Co joint venture between China and Sweden to sell 1,000 cars as short-term rentals, thereby reaching consumers without having to through dealer network. E-commerce also contributes to boosting sales, reducing points of sale and saving operating costs.

Many forecasts suggest that Chinese electric car manufacturers can reach sales of 1 million units in Europe by 2025, accounting for a third of the European market share. In particular, China’s Geely Group is estimated to sell 252,000 units in the European market, equivalent to 42% of the number of vehicles it produces.

In the context that China’s domestic market is gradually saturated, the country’s electric car manufacturers will be forced to look outside to develop, in which Europe and Southeast Asia are considered as markets. most potential.