Which Chinese brands will survive the next wave?

We’re in the midst of another onslaught of Chinese brands in Australia and it looks a little different than the last. However, the question remains: which brands will survive and thrive, which will fail?

After Great Wall entered the Australian market in 2009, a number of Chinese brands followed. Geely arrived in 2010, Chery in 2011, Foton and ZX Auto in 2012, and JMC followed in 2015.

Of those brands, only Great Wall – now renamed GWM – still sells cars in Australia. And it has struggled a lot in just a few years of operation with asbestos recalls, slumping sales and changing distributors.

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Of course, now GWM not only exists but thrives. Parent company Great Wall Motor will bring two of its other brands to Australia this year, although it will sell these Tank and Ora vehicles under the GWM banner to create a range of GWM-branded vehicles, from from electric hatchbacks to burly body-on SUVs.

GWM is Australia’s 13th best-selling brand by 2022, ahead of BMW, Suzuki and Tesla. Rival MG did even better, comfortably breaking into the top 10 brands and coming in at seventh place overall.

MG’s sister brand SAIC Motor, commercial vehicle specialist LDV, is the 17th best-selling brand. BYD is another success story, with Atto 3 SUVs become the third best-selling electric vehicle in Australia by 2022.

In a case of déjà vu, Chery announced a return to Australia, set for First quarterwhile the unfamiliar brand (for Australians) JAC also come here in 2023. GAC Aion, the electric vehicle arm of Guangzhou-based GAC, is also planning to launch in 2023 or 2024, with Geely’s Lynk & Co brand previously marking a Launched in 2025.

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You would be forgiven for thinking that this is just a copy of the first wave of China that began more than a decade ago. However, while the Chinese auto industry still produces mostly ugly and outdated cars and even has some knockoffs, overall, the industry has grown remarkably rapidly. .

You just need to look at the safety of the car. For example, the Chery J1 and J11 only received three and two-star ANCAP ratings. The brand has also had to stop selling vehicles due to government regulations requiring an electronic stability control system, which they don’t have. And don’t forget the asbestos recalls…

Now, Chery Omoda 5 – became the brand’s first model, and followed the roads of Australia – has received a five-star rating from Euro NCAP, heralding a similar rating from ANCAP and comes with the safety technology expected in its class.

While there is clearly demand for affordable, modern-looking, well-equipped Chinese vehicles, especially as brands from Japan, Korea and Europe are struggling To get the supply back and keep the price up, it’s not clear whether Chery and JAC can match it. the success of MG, BYD, GWM and LDV.

SAIC Motor made good sense when it acquired the longstanding MG brand, and many consumers didn’t even realize that the brand’s cars were designed, engineered and built in China. We have heard of many people who are satisfied with their “small European car”.

old hoary Grade 3 It is also the second cheapest car in Australia, allowing it to capture the equivalent of more than a third of its segment.

BYD has capitalized on nascent but growing demand for affordable electric vehicles. Oftentimes, EV buyers seem to research their technology and be willing to try a more unfamiliar brand.

GWM offers a wide range of utes and SUVs that are affordable and totally modern looking, while LDV’s vans outshine similarly sized competitors considerably. The LDV T60 ute and D90 SUVs also do well on the sales charts, again supported by reasonable pricing.

While the low price may not even help the Geely MK or the Chery J1, it can go a long way when combined with a long list of modern devices and styles to keep people away more expensive Japanese, European or Korean cars.

But how do these new (and returning) Chinese companies convince buyers to consider not only more expensive established brands like Toyota, but also rivals from their homeland?

Chery products look so much better than their old forage, they’re barely recognizable as from the same company, but while one talks about electric and electrified models, it will launch petrol SUVs first… will run ahead of popular models from MG and GWM.

Consumers also often have lasting memories and may remember Chery as a supplier of low-cost, low-tech vehicles. GWM had to rebrand after Great Wall’s reputation fell.

JAC – imported by BLK Auto, not factory operated like Chery – will have a diesel engine, the T9, which will go head-to-head with the older brands GWM Ute and LDV T60. Will it continue to boost Chinese Ute car sales or will it just remove buyers from an already existing pool of Ute owners open enough to buy a Chinese Ute?

However, there is promise of something special from JAC: an electric ute, set for 2024, that will use a dedicated EV architecture.

The LDV eT60 stuns at $92,990 before hitting the road, a tall order for an electric version of an existing ute that even lacks cruise control. And yet, credit when credit is due: LDV has electricity here and no one else does. That’s despite growing interest in the format, especially in the United States, where the American Big 3 is busy rolling out full-size electric pickups.

GAC, like JAC, is a brand that won’t be known to most of the Chinese in Australian bars. But by just launching here with the GAC Aion brand, it has the potential to establish a presence as a technology-focused, forward-thinking company.

You only have to look at Europe to see how committed Chinese brands are to global expansion and where they are far better than they were a decade ago.

The Aiways, BYD, Hongqi, Nio, Dongfeng’s Voyah, Geely’s Zeekr and GWM’s Ora and Wey brands are at different stages of rollout in Europe and almost all of these vehicles are current battery-powered vehicles. modern – exactly what Europe is calling for – with some plug-in hybrids.

The Chinese brands coming here are bringing products that aren’t necessarily high-end or aspirational like the Nio ES9 or Zeekr 001, but they are targeting segments where their compatriots have been successful. with products that – at least on the surface – appear to be as competitive as the MG and LDV Rivals.

Is that enough to see the likes of JAC and Chery become the top 20?