Chinese electric cars to capture 15 per cent of European market by 2025 in leap forward for exports: KPMG economist

Chinese car brands accounted for less than 10 per cent of the 1.1 million battery-powered EVs sold in Europe last year, KPMG says

Chinese companies have advantages in affordable prices and a wide range of EV models catering to different consumer needs, economist says

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Cars await loading onto a ship for export at Yantai Port in east China’s Shangdong Province on May 9, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:30pm, 13 Jun 2023Updated: 3:11pm, 13 Jun 2023

Chinese carmakers are expected to capture around 15 per cent of Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) market by 2025, as players such as BYD, Nio, and Li Auto gain popularity among European consumers, according to an economist at KPMG.

This would represent a fast step forward for the Chinese car brands, as their cars accounted for less than 10 per cent of the 1.1 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sold in Europe last year, according to a report released by KPMG on Monday in Shanghai at China’s first Carbon Neutrality Expo.

“Home-grown Chinese brands such as BYD, Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto have huge potential in the European market and could contribute the most to future sales increase there,” said Kevin Kang, chief economist at KPMG China.

Europe is the world’s second-biggest and fastest-growing EV market after China, and is expected to see surging demand for EVs following the European Union’s announcement that it will ban the sale of new fossil-fuel cars starting in 2035 to combat climate change.

Toby Marshall, UK sales and marketing director for Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor’s ORA brand, shows off the ORA Funky Cat hatchback ahead of its British launch in Solihull, Britain on October 5, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Europe accounted for about half of the 1 million new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – an umbrella term that covers BEVs, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles – that China exported last year, according to KPMG.