Before resigning on December 1, 2024, Carlos Tavares continued to warn of the threat that Chinese brands pose to European manufacturers. While offering a wide open gateway to one of these “enemies”, by signing a partnership agreement with Leapmotor. The former boss of Stellantis is sometimes accused of having brought the wolf into the fold. But on the French market, for the moment, manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom are fewer in number than in Spain, Italy or even Germany. The Nio, Omoda, Polestar or even DR Automobiles labels remain officially absent in our regions while we find them in some of our neighbors.
MG far ahead of the others
While waiting for the probable rise of Leapmotor, MG is even the only one to have managed to really do well in the game. Now owned by the Chinese group SAIC, this former British glory has sold no less than 16,908 vehicles in our country. First 11 months of the year according to NGC-Data data relayed by Autoactu. This allows it to do better than Jeep, Volvo or DS for example. But this is far from being able to really worry Renault or Peugeot, which exceeded 200,000 registrations over the same period. Dacia, Volkswagen, Toyota and Citroën are also above the 100,000 unit mark.
Even if it gets a lot of talk, MG’s success remains quite limited, especially since the manufacturer has fallen by 33.6% compared to 2023. After a strong start, its electric compact MG4 has quickly ran out of steam due to the loss of the ecological bonus, the price reductions of its competitors and a context less favorable to “zero emission” models. The arrival of the new ZS hybrid, however, gives hope for a rapid recovery, thanks to prices that are even more competitive than those of a Dacia Duster.
BYD, a still discreet giant
Both globally and in its home market, BYD is a much bigger manufacturer than MG. BYD continues to progress and even managed to register more cars worldwide than Ford in the third quarter of 2024. It is also one of the largest battery producers on the planet. For example, its accumulators can be found in certain Tesla or Peugeot models. But for now, in Europe as in France, its sales remain timid despite a range that continues to grow. Over the first 11 months, BYD only sold 3,628 vehicles in France. This is less than Honda or Alfa Romeo for example, while Lexus or Land Rover are almost twice as good. The fairly high-end offering, with prices that are not really aggressive, could explain this poor performance. However, we should not underestimate the reaction capacity of this giant. It is already increasing promotions or price reductions to become more competitive, while continuing launches at a breakneck pace.
Takeoff coming for Leapmotor and Xpeng?
The third name that gets a lot of buzz is Leapmotor. Even if its Leapmotor T03 city car seems poorly placed to obtain the long-awaited ecological bonus, it is one of the cheapest electric cars on the market. As a bonus, it can now benefit from part of the Stellantis distribution network, just like the C10 SUV or the future B10. But until the end of September, the brand was only sold sparingly by an importer, SN Diffusion. For the moment, its registrations have therefore remained anecdotal with barely 312 vehicles sold over the first 11 months. Figures which could well explode in the coming months.
In a very different style, Xpeng also displays great ambitions. This “start-up” is sometimes presented as the Chinese Tesla, and its Xpeng G6 SUV is clearly targeting the American brand’s Model Y. It stands out from its competitor in particular by a much faster charging speed, thanks to an 800V electrical network. But it remains perfectible on many points and quite expensive, despite the lack of notoriety of its manufacturer. As for the distribution network, it is still under construction. Landing in France towards the end of spring, the firm has only registered 289 vehicles there for the moment…
Lynk&Co tries to relaunch
Owner of Volvo or Lotus, co-owner of Smart, present in the capital of Mercedes and associated with Renault as part of the Horse joint venture dedicated to thermal or hybrid engines, Geely seems to have an insatiable appetite. In its local market, the group has created several new labels. But while waiting for the announced arrival of Zeekr and Polestar in 2025, only Lynk&Co has been officially offered here since 2021. Its 01 plug-in hybrid SUV was marketed with formulas that are intended to be innovative, such as a monthly subscription that can be canceled at any time or a car-sharing system. We cannot say that the offer was a great success. Over the first 11 months of 2024, Lynk and Co only attracted 508 buyers in France, or 84.4% less than in 2023. Today, Lynk&Co is banking on a second model, the 02 SUV-coupé, and on the restyling of the 01 to try to reverse the trend.
What future for the brands present at the Paris Motor Show?
At the last Paris Motor Show, there were also many other Chinese manufacturers who are today absent or almost absent from the sales statistics. For two of them, Hongqi and Skyworth, the arrival in France seems indeed imminent. Official sites in the language of Molière already exist and a network is being formed. The first has even already registered 7 vehicles. On the other hand, for Forthing, a subsidiary of Dongfeng, a group which made itself known by contributing to the rescue of PSA Peugeot-Citroën in 2012, everything still seems to remain to be done. Same story for GAC Motor or even Aito. Presence at the Show does not guarantee arrival in France. At the 2022 World Cup, the Great Wall Motors group exhibited several models badged Ora or Wey. But the company ended up closing its European headquarters, failing to achieve the expected success, and it seems to have given up on entering our market.
Already the end for Seres and Aiways?
Great Wall Motors is not the only one to have broken its teeth. Aiways, which was one of the first to invest in France in 2020, today seems to be in a state of clinical death. In great difficulty in its local market, Aiways has never really emerged from anonymity here. Its 138 sales over the first 11 months of 2024 bear witness to this, and its last 14 new registrations date back to last August. For its part, Seres, which was distributed by the former importer of Leapmotor, manages to do even worse. The brand has not sold any vehicles in our country since the start of the year! In this context, it is difficult to consider that these two manufacturers are still really marketed in France.
A presence also in the utility
However, the Chinese are not content with attacking the passenger car market. Some of them specialize in utilities, such as Maxus or DFSK, a subsidiary of Dongfeng. The first only sold 854 vehicles and the second was limited to 21 registrations. We are far from the announced invasion! This inventory therefore clearly illustrates that the “threat” brandished by Carlos Tavares is still very widespread for the moment. But Europeans would still be misguided if they did not take it seriously. The arrival of all these brands is still very recent, and the Middle Kingdom has repeatedly proven its ability to adapt quickly. The situation could therefore change very quickly.
