Foreign brands register more locally-made new energy vehicles in China in August

China-made new energy vehicles (NEVs) from foreign brands captured larger market share in the world’s biggest vehicle market in August as they are wasting no time to enhance their competence against local ones.

The country registered 1,823,747 locally-made passenger vehicles in August, 26.25% of which were NEVs, equivalent to 478,796 units, according to data compiled by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute. NEVs accounted for 44.66% of local brands overall registrations with 405,050 registered while foreign vehicle brands’ NEV share of their monthly registrations was only 7.25% in the month, far fewer than the industry average and local automakers’ level. In the month, there were a total of 309 NEV models in China’s market, just 69 of which were from foreign brands.

Last month, the registrations of locally-made NEVs from foreign brands nearly tripled to 73,746 units, accounting for 15.4% of the country’s monthly NEV registrations, 4.5 percentage points more than that of the same month last year when foreign brands’ registrations totaled 24,922 vehicles. In the first eight months of this year, the registrations of foreign-branded NEVs jumped 67.57% from a year ago to 485,577 units.

Only Tesla and Volkswagen saw monthly NEV registrations over 10,000 units while the other foreign brands’ volumes were all under 4,000 units. Beyond the top 10 brands by monthly registrations, all brands registered fewer than 500 NEVs in the month.  

Tesla, which makes the Model 3 and the Model Y in its Shanghai plant, is an absolute leader by both monthly and year-to-date registrations. With 31,800 Model Ys and 3,847 Model 3s registered in August, Tesla outnumbered the runner-up by nearly 16,000 units. In the Jan.-Aug. period, half of foreign brands’NEV registrations came from Tesla, whose registrations totaled 242,801 in the span.

Volkswagen’s August registrations posted a growth of 146% compared with the same month last year and followed by another two German brands. Mercedes Benz is boosting its NEV efforts in China. This year, the luxury automaker plans to launch 21 models in China, including 8 NEV models. At present, Beijing Benz, its joint venture with BAIC Group, offers 6 NEV models on the market, including the EQA, the EQB, the EQC and the EQE. This year, Benz also started the operation of its Shanghai R&D center, the second in China after the Beijing one.

Mustang brand ranked eleventh by August registrations with only one model for sale. Through August, the American brand’s registrations in China amounted to 4,698 units. Ever since the Mustang Mach-E hit the market, its registration performance was not so stable, peaking in March of this year but declining in the following moths, then standing at 415 units in August, the third lowest number in this year.

In order to accelerate its electrification in China, Ford Motor commenced the operation of FMeT this month, which focuses on the R&D and operation of intelligent electric vehicles (EVs) in China. The new firm is not only the American automaker’s third subsidiary in China, but also claimed to be foreign automobile brands’ first independent entity dedicated to intelligent electric vehicle development and operation in China.

Models from Volkswagen brand occupied four spots on the top 6 foreign-branded electric vehicles by August registrations in China, and all of the four models more than doubled their registrations in the month. Another model from the ID. series, namely the ID.6 X, was twelfth with 1,290 units registered.

The German giant has been sparing no efforts to enhance its presence in the country’s NEV market. Apart from SAIC VW and FAW VW, Volkswagen Anhui, the Group’s first dedicated NEV joint venture in China, is expected to start the mass production of its first model from 2023, Dr. Erwin Gabardi, CEO of Volkswagen Anhui said recently on the 2022 World Manufacturing Convention held in Hefei, Anhui Province. The executive promised to build a sustainable and robust NEV ecosystem in the province.

Honda preformed the best among all Japanese brands while Toyota’s NEV registrations in the market fell 43.45% year over year. Among all NEV models from Japanese brands, the M-NV, made by Dongfeng Honda, had the highest spot in August with 961 units registered, while its registrations surged 112.5% from a year earlier to 5,270 units through August.

Nissan, which was considered a pioneer in the battery electric vehicle market with the Leaf, only registered 2 NEVs in China last month. The Nissan Ariya, which hit the Chinese market on September 27, may revitalize the Japanese brand’s NEV performance in China.

Just like other NEVs, those from foreign brands are well accepted by big cities. Shanghai, which is home to SAIC VW and SAIC GM, saw its registrations of foreign-branded NEVs nearly triple to 9,106 units, topping other cities in China. But its registrations through August fell 4.87% year over year, affected by the COVID-19 resurgence in the first half of this year.

Hangzhou registered more NEVs in August than Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The Tesla Model Y was the most popular NEV model from foreign brands in the capital city of Zhejiang province, with registrations accounting for 54.4% of the city’s foreign-branded NEV registrations.

For the Jan.-Aug. period, 14 cities registered over 10,000 NEVs of foreign brands, 8 more than that of the same period in 2021.