MARKET UPDATE
400,000 Chinese-made new passenger cars found their way onto West European roads during the opening 9-months of 2023, according to Schmidt Automotive research.
According to the next edition of the European Electric Car Study, West European markets saw 0.4 million new passenger cars manufactured in China make their way onto the region's roads during the opening three-quarters of 2023.
That was made up of 252,000 Chinese-brand models from the likes of SAIC's MG brand, Geely's Polestar, as well as smaller volumes from the likes of BYD – that just failed to surpass 10,000 year-to-date regional deliveries this year – DR Motors models (white-label Chery models sold in Italy), as well as more niche models from the like of NIO, XPENG and FAW's Hongqi brand.
With just over 150,000 models from Western manufacturers that manufacture in China and export to Europe, such as Tesla, BMW, Dacia, and Honda, among others, the combined figure is set to surpass half a million units later this year.
During the opening 9-months of the year, every twentieth new car entering the region's new car market this year was manufactured in China.
With new models from Geely's brand stable, including the SEA-based Zeekr X and Volvo EX30 models arriving later this year with a more significant push from 2024, as well as Volkswagen Group's BEV-based Cupra Tavascan coming next year, the number is set to edge ever closer to one million units.
However, the EU's anti-subsidy investigations into EU imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China could stall that progress alongside the expectation that once manufacturers reach regional sales volumes of around 200,000pa, which SAIC's MG is approaching (158,000 YTD), OEMs are likely to produce locally helping everything from ESG, avoiding import tariffs and avoiding other trade barriers such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and other Life Cycle Analysis ratings.
More in-depth reporting in the full study published each month. The study now also features an in-depth look at the Chinese OEMs as their European expansion slowly begins. Are Chinese OEMs really a threat to the established European OEMs and what does the outlook look like?
May also interest you: French OEMs most vulnerable to Chinese incursion? Click here for the story
*Western Europe 18 Markets: EU Member States prior to the 2004 enlargement plus EFTA markets Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, plus UK