Competition in China’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment continued to be ramped up this year, with new brands coming onto the market and new models launched on a weekly basis. The more dominant manufacturers have been discounting heavily to buy market share, while the smaller start-up companies have struggled to keep up.
Go deeper with GlobalData
For all the heavy discounting, increased government incentives, and improved availability of finance, Chinese BEV sales growth has been sluggish this year – by recent standards. While global sales of Chinese-made new energy vehicles (NEVs) have soared by 36% to 11.262 million units in the first eleven months of 2024, according to wholesale data compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), most of this growth has come from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Chinese PHEV sales surged by 85% to 4.519 million units in the eleven-month period, while BEV sales rose by just 15% to 6.738 million units. Vehicle prices in this segment have come down significantly, but remain high compared with their internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents – despite government incentives and heavy discounting. Range and residual values also remain significant concerns among many would-be buyers. More and more cheaper, lower-segment models have come onto the market in the last year, increasing affordability.
BYD Auto remains China’s dominant BEV manufacturer, albeit with global sales rising by just 13% to 1,557,000 units in the eleven-month period while its PHEV sales surged by 69% to 2,183,700 units. Tesla, the second-largest BEV manufacturer in the country, reported a 4% decline in global shipments from its Shanghai plant to 823,000 units year-to-date (YTD), while its retail sales in China rose by 9% to 574,000 units.
Some of the well-backed local BEV manufacturers have outperformed significantly this year, including Lixiang Auto (Li Auto), which reported a 36% rise in global sales to 442,000 units YTD, while Seres’ sales surged almost fourfold to 390,000 units – including its Aito models developed in collaboration with Huawei. Leapmotor’s sales almost doubled to 249,000 units, while Geely’s Zeekr subsidiary reported an 85% rise to 194,000 units.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData
Some of the smaller, less-well-funded BEV manufacturers are struggling. Hozon’s sales are down sharply so far this year, to an estimated 90,000 Neta-branded models, leaving the company struggling with mounting losses. Earlier this month, Hozon announced it is stepping up its restructuring to cut costs further, ahead of a possible IPO launch in Hong Kong next year. Livan ‘s sales are also down sharply this year.
Several Chinese BEV startups have already gone bankrupt in the last year, including WM Motors, HiPhi, Byton, and Human Horizons, and many more are expected to follow. It is estimated that there are now around 200 BEV manufacturers in operation in the country, but this is less than half the number estimated just a few years ago. This includes numerous small-scale manufacturers often set up to tap into government incentives, as well as companies operating mainly at a regional level with comparatively low-tech products.
With technology giants such as Huawei and Xiaomi now involved in a growing number of BEV manufacturing joint ventures, providing the latest in connected technologies, it is becoming increasingly hard for these smaller manufacturers to survive.
The fierce price war of the last two years looks set to continue into next year and is beginning to spill over into overseas markets – as Chinese manufacturers continue to expand globally and as overall demand in many overseas markets has weakened this year. Earlier this month, it emerged that BYD Auto recently sent out letters to its numerous suppliers demanding price reductions of up to 10% in 2025. While this is good news for consumers, with BEV prices continuing to come down while the quality and performance of new products continue to improve, this is not good news for the smaller, less well-funded companies.
