By CHEN Xiaotong

China’s entire auto market has been on a war footing this year. A price war blamed on Tesla started in the EV market in October last year and spread to the ICE market at the start of this year. More than 40 automakers with over 100 models have been swept into the melee, taking prices to record lows.?

Prices might be at record lows, but sales are certainly not at record highs, with “wait and see” being the most widespread sentiment, at least on the buyers’ side.

Domestic marques better than JVs

ZHU Huarong, president of Changan Automobile, said on Monday that the market is reshuffling. By his reckoning, 70 percent of automakers in the Chinese market will face either merger or closure in the next two or three years.

He said 75 marques have gone in the past three years. There are still 148 auto marques in China – 34 foreign-invested - and the 20 biggest control about 90 percent of the market.

In Q1 this year, domestic brands controlled 52.7 percent of sales. Zhu said many domestic marques already make better cars than joint ventures, especially in the EV market. Last year, 80 percent of EVs sold in China were domestically made.

Industry full of opportunities

China already has the largest EV market and there will be 30 million vehicles on the roads in 2027, something Zhu said means the industry is still full of opportunities, but only for EVs and smart cars.

Zhu said by 2030, 30 percent of the global market will be occupied by China, by then, there will definitely be a world-class/ Chinese automaker.

Last year, Changan Automobile recorded revenue of 121 billion yuan (US$18 billion), up 15.3 percent year on year, with net profit doubling to 7.8 billion yuan