China's new energy vehicles are hot selling in Thailand and Australia! Japanese media: Chinese automobiles challenge the core market of Japanese cars

With the increasing competitiveness of China's new energy vehicle companies, Japanese media have paid attention to the fact that China's new energy vehicle cyclone is strongly blowing into the traditional overseas markets of Japanese car companies, especially the two major markets of Thailand and Australia. In May, both Thailand and Australia accounted for 7% of their vehicle sales in May. Japan's "Nikkei Asia" reported on the 8th that in these markets, Japanese automakers lagging behind in the field of electric vehicles are facing the risk of losing to Chinese automakers.

Sales of new energy vehicles in Thailand and Australia surged

Japanese automobile brands have entered the Thai market since the 60s of the 20th century and have been deeply cultivated for decades. At present, Japanese car brands account for about 80% of new car sales in Thailand. However, the new energy vehicles under the Japanese brand started slowly in Thailand, and the Japanese electric vehicles such as Toyota bZ4x and Nissan Leaf performed averagely. "Nikkei Asia" said that Japanese car companies as a whole are in a backward position in the field of electric vehicles.

On the streets of Bangkok, Toyota and Honda cars are very common, but recently, Chinese new energy vehicles such as BYD, MG, and Haval have become more and more common, and BYD has accounted for 40% of local new energy vehicle sales. Chinese new energy vehicle companies are also making a big localization in Thailand. BYD started construction of a plant in Rayong Province, Thailand, and Changan plans to invest 9.8 billion baht (10 baht about 2 yuan) to build a new energy vehicle production plant in Thailand. In addition, SAIC Motor and Great Wall Motor are also actively promoting local production. According to other statistics, sales of new energy vehicles in Thailand reached 5,000 units in May this year, an increase of 13 times month-on-month, and the proportion of new energy vehicle sales in Thailand's national automobile sales rose from 0.5% to 7%.

On June 23, domestic new energy vehicles were waiting to board at Shanghai Haitong Terminal. (Visual China)

In Australia, Japanese cars account for about 40% of Australia's imported passenger cars. Japanese brands have a high share of the Oppi truck segment. However, similar to the situation in Thailand, the Japanese brand's position in the Australian new energy vehicle market is facing the threat of being attacked by Chinese competitors. In 2022, BYD entered the Australian market. At present, Tesla accounts for about 60% of the Australian new energy vehicle market, and BYD accounts for about 20%. The Australian government announced its first national NEV strategy in April this year. In May this year, sales of new energy vehicles in Australia reached 7,000 units, a 15-fold surge.

At the same time, Chinese new energy vehicles are also entering the Japanese domestic market. In July 2022, BYD announced that it will launch three models in Japan in 2023. Japan's "Toyo Keizai" said that just as "Made in Japan" once changed the US passenger car market, it may now be the time when "Made in China" changes the Japanese market.

Electrification has become a source of anxiety for Japanese automakers

According to The Economist, Japan has been at the forefront of the automotive industry for decades. However, the electrification transition has become a source of anxiety for Japanese automakers. Japan and its automakers have so far lagged behind in the competition for electric vehicles, the fastest-growing segment of the automotive industry.

In 2022, pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids accounted for around 13% of global vehicle sales. In some markets, including China, the proportion has reached 20%. In Japan, however, the figure is only 2%. Leading companies in the electric vehicle race include new car-making forces Tesla and BYD, as well as established giants Volkswagen of Germany. Although Nissan and Mitsubishi launched electric vehicles more than a decade ago, they did not enter the top 20 global electric vehicle sales. Toyota's total vehicle sales in 2022 were 10.5 million units, of which only 24,000 were electric vehicles.

Critics worry that the slow development of electric vehicles could lead to "wheel off" in the Japanese auto industry. Automobile exports account for about 20% of Japan's total exports, and the automotive industry provides 8% of Japan's jobs, and if the automotive industry declines, it will have a huge impact on the economy and society. But Japanese automakers are accelerating their catch-up. In April, Toyota announced that it would increase annual sales of electric vehicles to 1.5 million units by 2026. Honda plans to launch 30 electric vehicles by 2030.

The Economist analysis believes that Japan has been slow to start with electric vehicles, partly because of its early success. Industry leaders are hesitant to embrace a new technology that could weaken Japan's leading position. Some automakers believe that switching to electric vehicles is a breeze. However, the failure of Toyota's pure electric vehicle bZ4x shows that designing and building top-of-the-line electric vehicles is not as simple as it seems.

All parties pay attention to the progress of solid-state battery technology

In the first quarter of this year, China surpassed Japan to become the world's largest auto exporter, in part due to a surge in exports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, industry analyst Canalys predicts that China's exports of new energy vehicles will reach 1.3 million units this year. A number of institutions predict that China's auto exports will surpass Japan to become the world's first this year.

Regarding whether China's new energy vehicles can shake the status of Japanese car companies overseas, in an interview with the Global Times, Zhang Xiang, a visiting professor at the Yellow River Institute of Science and Technology, believes that China's new energy vehicles already have certain strength. However, new energy vehicle brands are also facing challenges in overseas markets. Due to the relatively short development time of the mainland automotive industry, the popularity of new energy vehicle brands in the international market is relatively low and the market experience is insufficient. Japanese automakers have been working in overseas markets for decades, establishing a relatively wide sales network and production base, and have more experience. Zhang Xiang said: "On the path of new energy vehicles, Japanese car companies have chosen different technical solutions from us. They chose hybrid and hydrogen fuel cells. We chose pure electric, plug-in, range extender. Japanese car companies started late in our technological direction. ”

A few days ago, Toyota announced a major breakthrough in its solid-state battery technology. This news has sparked heated discussions, and some comments believe that the car company may "overtake on a curve" with this technology. Solid-state battery technology is regarded by many people in the industry as a "disruptive technology" for electric vehicles. In an interview with reporters, Chen Chaozhuo, a senior automotive engineer, said that solid-state batteries are the ultimate challenge for electric vehicles, and the winner will gain great advantages.

Zhang Xiang believes that Japan started early in solid-state battery technology and has accumulated a lot of experience, but this technology has not achieved mass production and commercialization. It remains to be seen who will gain a breakthrough lead in this area in the future.

【Global Times Special Correspondent in Thailand and Japan Yang Yi, Wang Xiaojun, Global Times Reporter Ren Xiaonan, Global Times Special Correspondent Zhen Xiang, Chen Xin】