7:19 am, April 19, 2023
The majority of car buyers have never heard of most of the new wave of EV brands hoping to make their mark in the UK, a new survey has revealed.
Data collected by What Car? asked 1,033 in-market buyers if they were familiar with ten new EV brands that either already sell cars in Britain, or are planning to launch here in the coming years.
More than half (53 per cent) said they had never heard of any of the names when faced with the likes of BYD, Chery or Ora.
Other Chinese brands on the list included Aiways, Nio and Lynk & Co while American firms included Lucid, Rivan and Fisker.
The list was completed by Polestar, which was also the best-known brand among the ten, with 44.5 per cent of respondents having heard of it.
The Swedish outfit was followed by Fisker (12.5 per cent), and Rivian (10.7 per cnet).
Meanwhile, BYD, which recently opened orders for the Atto 3, was familiar to just 8.2 per cent of respondents and Ora to just 6.4 per cent.
Aiways, which previously announced plans to sell vehicles in the UK, was the least known brand, with less than one per cent recognising its name.
Of those taking part in the survey, more than a third (35.8 per cent) said they’d prefer to buy from a traditional manufacturer, compared to just 2.3 per cent the other way around.
Steve Huntingford, editor, What Car?, said: ‘Our data highlights just how hard it will be for new entrants to break into the new car market in the UK, as they have to build up a strong brand reputation as well as convincing buyers of the quality and value of their products.
‘However, some of the cars we have tested from emerging brands such as Polestar and BYD have shown considerable quality; canny buyers will continue to survey third party reviews to ascertain which of the newcomers has the potential to spring a surprise and shake-up the established order.’
The news comes just a day after Car Dealer reported that Chinese brand Zeekr is planning a European launch with one eye on the UK market.
Meanwhile, fellow Chinese outfit MG announced plans to sell its Cyberster sports car in the UK.
At last month’s Car Dealer conference in Gaydon, Cambria boss Mark Lavery said the influx was the ‘single biggest seismic shift’ the automotive industry has seen for decades’.
Earlier this year, leading BYD announced plans to have up to 100 UK car dealers by end of 2025 and GWM Ora partnered with dealer groups Lookers, Wessex Garages, Peter Vardy, Chorley Group, Charles Hurst Group and City West Country.
