8:25 am, June 26, 2025
New Chinese car brands are still struggling with low levels of customer awareness but that is not enough to put buyers off purchasing them.
That is according to new data from Motors, which says that ‘rapidly changing dynamics’ in the new car market mean that brand loyalty is fast becoming a thing of the past.
The firm’s latest Consumer Insight Panel found that just over half (57%) of buyers are aware of at least one of the new brands.
While on the surface, that result would not appear too bad, closer analysis shows that the data is heavily skewed towards BYD which had the highest prompted awareness among buyers at 40%.
Outside of that, Nio finished in a distant second with just 14% of buyers aware of the brand, ahead of Omoda (12%) and GWM (12%).
At the bottom of the list, Leapmotor was the lowest-ranked new brand with customer awareness of just 6%, despite the outfit having the bonus of being sold via Stellantis’s established dealer network.
The research, which polled 2,002 adults, found that awareness of new brands is highest among men (66%) and buyers aged 25-34 (71%).
Reacting to the findings, Lucy Tugby, marketing Director of Motors, said: ‘The low awareness of many of the new Chinese brands is undoubtedly due to the sheer number of entrants we have witnessed over a short time.
‘BYD’s prominence can be attributed to its investment in brand building through marketing and high-profile sponsorship activities, in conjunction with the rollout of its dealer network.’
Despite not being aware of the majority of new brands, nearly two-thirds (64%) of buyers said they would consider buying a car made by one of them, with more than half (54%) saying they would consider an EV.
Meanwhile, consideration of buying a new car (46%) was only marginally higher than used (41%).
‘The research shows just how receptive car buyers are to new brands and how brand loyalty is no longer a prime consideration,’ added Tugby.
‘The dynamics in the UK car retail market are changing rapidly and younger buyers in particular are open to considering buying new or used cars from a new Chinese brand rather than stay with tried and tested European, Japanese and South Korean marques, the allure of affordability and the latest tech outweighing badge considerations.’
