Chinese Market Q4 2023: Mercedes-Benz and BMW establish charging JV

Geely and Changan partner with NIO on Battery Swapping

2024/02/01

Summary
Trends of Chinese OEMs (Q4 2023)
Trends of major non-Chinese manufacturers (Q4 2023)
Policies related to China's automotive industry (Q4 2023)

Summary

VW Anhui MEB plant (Source: Volkswagen Group China)

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced on January 11, 2024, that new vehicle sales (factory shipments) in 2023 reached 30.094 million units, an increase of 12% from the previous year, exceeding 30 million units for the first time. Of this total, passenger cars grew 10.6% to 26.063 million units, while commercial vehicles increased 22.1% to 4.031 million units. Sales of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) grew 37.9% year-over-year (y/y) to 9.495 million units, with a market share of 31.6%.

This report presents key trends in the Chinese market for Chinese and major foreign automakers in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. In the area of electrification, many automakers, including SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (SAIC) and BYD Auto Co. Ltd. (BYD), have started battery projects and production. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (Changan) and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC) are focusing on the R&D of solid-state batteries. In addition, Geely Automobile (Geely) and Changan agreed to a partnership with NIO Inc. (NIO) regarding the battery swapping business. In the smart car field, Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM) announced an intelligence brand, and Changan invested in a new Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) smart car solution company. GAC has invested in Voyager Group Inc., a self-driving related company under the umbrella of DiDi Global Inc. (Didi). FAW Jiefang Automotive Co., Ltd. and Huawei, Great Wall Motor Company Limited (GWM) and iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. (iFlytek), and others have agreed to partner in the smart car field. The government has also launched several policies to support the commercialization of L3 and above autonomous vehicles.

Major foreign (non-Chinese) automakers are focusing on local development and partnerships with local manufacturers. VW built a production and R&D center in Hefei, Anhui Province, and began exports to the European market. Its subsidiary software company CARIAD SE also formed a joint venture (JV) with Beijing Horizon Robotics Technology R&D Co., Ltd. (Horizon Robotics) and established a joint lab with Chinese cell phone manufacturer Vivo Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. (vivo). Mercedes-Benz will increase the headcount of its R&D team in China to 2,000 by the end of 2023 and has agreed with BMW to establish a JV regarding charging. SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited (SAIC-GM) established a software and digitalization center. Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL), a joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng, will launch 10 locally developed NEV models in the Chinese market over the next three years. Stellantis N.V. has acquired a 20% stake in emerging EV maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., Ltd. (Leapmotor) and will also partner with DFM to develop EV products. In addition, GAC Mitsubishi Motors Co., Ltd. (GAC Mitsubishi) will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the GAC Group, and the Changsha plant will be renovated as the third plant of GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. (GAC Aion).

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