'You can't ignore strength of Chinese in electric cars market'

MG Motors said 'it is in a very strong position to take advantage' of the move to electric cars as its sales in the UK reached over £1 billion in 2022.
The MG brand, owned by the Chinese company SAIC Motor Corp, said its sales more than doubled as a result of demand for its electric and hybrid vehicles.
It also achieved profits of £54.2 million compared with £4.3 million in 2022. The results come as China step up their production of electric vehicles fuelled by state subsidies for batteries with a number of new cars emerging. These new brands including MG are shipped from Shanghai across the world and will increase pressure on European and American manufactures.
MG Rover was the last UK owned volume car manufacturer before it collapsed in 2005. SAIC, a state-controlled company and China’s largest motor manufacturer, bought the majority of the company with Nanjing Automobile Group acquiring the rest. The two companies merged in 2007. Production was moved in 2016 to Shanghai ending over 100 years of production in the UK.
The MG ZS is among the cheapest electric cars for sale in the UK and was one of five most popular cars in September as reported by the Society of Motor manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
"We have seen an increasing number of Chinese brands - and cars made in China from other marques – enter the new car market in recent years with considerable success,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. “These models which are often electrified are finding strong demand in a market that is fiercely competitive."
China exported more than a million vehicles in the world in the first three months of 2023, according to official figures taking over from Japan as the world’s biggest exporter of cars.
Mr Hawes said China was also in the top five export destinations for UK built vehicles adding the UK needed to, 'ensure trade is free and fair, with strong engagement to ensure the UK can equally take advantage of fast-growing Asian markets'.
This is likely to create a major challenge for European, USA and other world manufacturers. Europe is rumoured to be considering whether tariffs would be appropriate but many of them want to benefit from the massive home market in China. Mercedes recently confirmed the percentage of their sales sold in China was more than twice that sold in the USA and three times more than sold in Germany.
Nobody can afford to ignore the strength of the Chinese brands and their quality and leadership in electric vehicle technology. We have already heard preliminary announcements from Ora, BYD, and Chery concerning their setting up of dealers to represent their brands in 2024 and some of the models expected. MG have shown what can be done and other Chinese brands will follow. Watch this space.