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Foreign car brands from Volkswagen to Toyota to lose share in China, the world’s largest automotive market as era of gas and diesel vehicles nears end
- Volkswagen, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz could all lose share to domestic carmakers that are undergoing rapid electrification
- Chinese carmakers better aligned with consumer preferences with BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, seen raising its market share by 4 to 5 percentage points by 2030
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Foreign car brands from Toyota to BMW, once the dominant players in China’s automotive industry, will suffer a significant loss of market share due to a slower transition to electric vehicles as domestic players, powered by rapid electrification, grab a bigger slice of the pie, according to a new Greenpeace report.
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Volkswagen (VW), currently the biggest carmaker by sales in the world’s largest vehicle market, will see its share drop by 3 to 7 percentage points by 2030, it said. VW sold 3.1 million cars to mainland customers last year, taking a 13.5 per cent share of the market.
The report forecasts General Motors is likely to lose between 3 and 6 percentage points of market share, Honda between 2 and 4 percentage points, Toyota between 1 and 3 percentage points, and BMW and Mercedes-Benz between 0.5 and 1.5 percentage points.
“Toyota, Volkswagen and other carmakers that have been slow to embrace electric vehicles face significant loss of market share, even under the most conservative estimates,” said Bao Hang, a Greenpeace campaigner, in a statement.
“China, the world’s largest auto market, is undergoing a seismic shift.”
The environmental group predicts market share gains for Chinese carmakers as they are better aligned with consumer preferences. It said that BYD, the world’s largest EV maker backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is likely to increase its market share in China by 4 to 5 percentage points by 2030.
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