BYD is currently the most popular independent car brand in China due in large part to its success in the electric vehicle market. Followed by Geely, Changan, Chery, Haval, and Great Wall.
While Chinese car brands were initially focused on producing low-cost, compact cars, the industry has rapidly expanded to include a wider range of vehicle types and segments. In recent years, Chinese automakers have also invested heavily in research and development and are increasingly producing higher-end vehicles and luxury cars.
China has set several records as the world’s largest car market:
In 2009, China became the world’s largest car market, with 13.64 million new vehicles sold, for the first time surpassing the United States (10.34 million). This country has topped the global new car sales list for 14 consecutive years until 2022 (2009-2022).
In 2013, both new car sales and annual vehicle production in China exceeded 20 million—making China the first country to do so.
In 2022, BYD (BEV+PHEV, 1,857,549) has overtaken Tesla (1,499,908) as the world’s best-selling electric car maker, with 18.4 percent of the global market.
Although most cars made in China are sold domestically, auto exports have been on the rise in recent years. In 2022, for example, China exported 3.4 million vehicles–a 55 percent increase over the previous year–overtaking Germany to become the world’s second-largest exporter for the first time. Of these exports, 1.12 million were electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrids), an increase of 190 percent over the previous year and accounting for 33 percent of total automobile exports.
Let’s take a look, Which car brands are on the list.
