11:15 am, June 11, 2024
UK car dealers are backing Xpeng, Omoda and BYD to be the Chinese brands which make the biggest impact on British roads, a new study has revealed.
According to data collected as part of Startline’s Used Car Tracker for June, 36% of automotive retailers believe that Xpeng is the most likely of the new brands to succeed.
That is despite the fact that the outfit has yet to launch in the UK and is not expected to arrive here until later in the year.
Of the brand’s to have already rocked up on these shores, dealers found Omoda the most impressive, with 34% of dealers saying the brand had the best chance of success.
The result comes after the firm announced ambitious plans for 100 dealers and 10,000 sales in UK by end of 2024
Following closely was BYD, which was name checked by 31% of retailers, as it continues to implement a sizeable UK dealer dealer network.
The brand is investing heavily across Europe and is hopeful that a major sponsorship of this summer’s Uefa European Championships will help to boost brand awareness.
The likes of Lynk & Co (24%), Nio (24%), Jaecoo (19%), GWM Ora (17%), Zeekr (12%) and HiPhi (5%) were also featured in the list.
The poll, conducted for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, surveyed the views of close to 60 dealers across the country.
Last week, Auto Trader’s commercial director, Ian Plummer, told Car Dealer Live that the choice and affordability of Chinese EVs will only benefit UK car buyers.
Reacting to the latest findings, Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: ‘It can seem as though a new Chinese EV entrant to the UK car market is announced every week but our research shows that dealers are starting to build up a picture of which they think are the most credible.
‘Xpeng is an interesting result at the top of the table. Although they have just launched in Germany, they are not expected to arrive in the UK later this year, while other brands such as BYD and GWM ORA already have cars on UK roads. However, dealers obviously see some potential there.’
He added: ‘All of the top three in our results are, we believe, adopting a traditional franchise model for their sales and support networks, so at least some dealers in our survey are likely to be actively talking to these manufacturers about their UK strategies.
‘What will be interesting over the medium term, of course, is which of these new entrants are able to not just gain a foothold in the UK market but maintain a presence over time.
‘The Financial Times recently forecast that out of 50 companies making electric vehicles in China, only a dozen were expected to survive until the end of the decade. It is a ferociously competitive market.’
