Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

The race for China's electric SUV market is heating up both at home and abroad.

The race for China's electric SUV market is heating up both at home and abroad.

The battleground in the electric vehicle price war is shifting to SUV-styled EVs, the largest section of the market dominated by Tesla and BYD.
The market, already congested with more than 90 models, is likely to grow even tighter, analysts and executives said, with at least 20 new models of both Chinese and foreign brands launching in April, compressing pricing and margins at home and pushing exports.

Analysts believe that EV manufactures in China have followed Tesla's aggressive price reduction by decreasing costs for their own electric SUVs, cannibalizing sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as the price gap between the technologies narrows.

With increased exports of Chinese-made electric SUVs, the trend will spread globally.

"Because of China's ultra-competitive market, we'll see a lot of Chinese exports." Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based advice firm Sino Auto Insights, believes it will be a pressure release valve.

Over the last decade, the SUV market in China has grown to account for about 40% of all cars sold, with 400 SUV models available in all fuel types.

In 2022, nearly as many Chinese-made SUVs were sold as automobiles of any sort in Europe last year, or more than 11 million.

Since Tesla released its locally built Model Y in China two years ago, the popularity of electric SUVs has surged, making it one of the fastest-growing segments in the world's largest auto market.

Among the new models unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in April were both domestic and foreign names.

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), and Toyota (7203.T) are banking on new electric SUVs to boost sales in China.

Xpeng (9868.HK) and Nio (9866.HK), both Made in China EV startups, have six SUV models, and EV-only brands developed by Chinese state-owned vehicle firms, such as GAC's (601238.SS) Aion, are also pushing all-electric SUVs.

They will compete with 93 existing electric SUV models in a market with 1.5 million sales in 2022, with the top 10 brands accounting for 84%, according to a Reuters analysis of statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Before Tesla began making Model Ys in China in 2020, there were 76 electric SUVs on the market, with annual sales averaging just 3,000 units.

Despite recent slight price increases, Tesla's Model Y is still 20% less expensive in China than it was in early October, when the carmaker was dealing with growing inventory.


DISCOUNT WAR
Xpeng, Leapmotor (9863.HK) and others have fired back with their own discounts, while BYD offered a discount of $1,000 on its market-leading Song Plus SUV, or about 4% off.

Those who refuse to cut prices on existing models in order to safeguard brand value have instead chosen to provide lower-than-expected beginning prices for new models, as well as longer driving ranges and more autonomous driving technologies.

For example, Geely's (0175.HK) (GEELY.UL) luxury EV brand Zeekr priced its new small crossover Zeekr X starting at $27,500, which is 28% less than Model Y and nearly the same price as Honda's (7267.T) CR-V, whose first-quarter sales fell 56%.

Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) also said last week that production of its Outlander SUV in China would be halted for three months.

According to Le of Sino Auto Insights, the reality is "brutal" for heritage international companies pursuing the mass market with small SUVs priced under $40,000, such as Ford.

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford (F.N), acknowledged severe market competition for two-row, SUV-styled EVs as a factor fueling China's auto export surge.

"That's why they're focusing so heavily on Europe." Europe is a high-end export market. "They're all going there," Farley remarked after a trip to China in April.

According to Farley, Ford would also restructure its China business in order to make one of its joint ventures into an export hub for low-cost commercial electric and combustion vehicles.

General Motors (GM.N), which saw its China profit fall by about a fourth in the most recent quarter, needs new EVs to succeed in order to reclaim its market share in China, but the pressure is severe.

"China has 100 vehicle brands vying for sales and a 50% capacity utilization rate," stated CEO Mary Barra.

Tesla and Renault (RENA.PA) have already been exporting considerable quantities of China-made electric SUVs to Europe. According to Reuters, Tesla will begin exporting Model Y crossovers from its Shanghai plant to Canada, marking the company's first exports to North America.

Chinese automakers have their own ambitions to increase sales of electric SUVs in Europe.

Zeekr stated it would bring the Zeekr X to Western Europe, while BYD's Atto 3 SUV exports more than doubled in the first quarter as the company began taking orders there.

"The styling of it (Atto 3) is in keeping with the higher driving position, the good space," said Mark Blundell, BYD's marketing head in the United Kingdom.

"We just feel like it's a good starting point for us in the UK."

$1 equals 6.9000 Chinese yuan renminbi.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×