Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturers have become increasingly competitive in the global market despite policy roadblocks from the EU and US, as the country’s car makers shift focus to exports at a time of slowing domestic sales in the world’s second largest economy, reports the South China Morning Post. Exports remained strong in the third quarter of this year, when Chinese brands sold over 130,000 BEVs abroad, a fourfold increase compared to the same quarter in 2022, data from market research firm Counterpoint showed.
Chinese electric carmaker BYD has now caught up with market leader Tesla, accounting for 17% of the global passenger BEV unit sales in the third quarter, up from a 13% market share a year earlier. Counterpoint expects BYD to surpass Tesla in the fourth quarter to become the world’s bestselling BEV brand.
“The influx of low-cost BEVs from China has been adversely affecting Europe’s domestic carmakers,” said Jeff Fieldhack, research director at Counterpoint. “This underlines the growing competitiveness in the BEV market, which is expected to intensify further.”