The European automotive industry is undergoing a grand reshuffle, led by the expanding offensive of Asian manufacturers. In just one month - last September - the leading five Chinese car concerns realized an impressive 214,000 sales of new passenger cars within the Old Continent. This result marks an impressive jump of 75% compared to the same period of the previous year, when 122,000 units were reported. This brought the combined market share of these Chinese giants in Europe to 15.8%, up from 9.8% last year.
The leading position on the continent is held by the giant Geely Group, whose portfolio includes brands such as Geely, Lotus, Lynk&Co, Zeekr, Polestar, LEVC, Smart and Volvo (It is important to note that ACEA statistics classify the Volvo and Smart brands as part of the Geely Group). The concern achieved 54,800 vehicles sold for the month, recording a growth of 33%. Chery Automobile won second place through its portfolio of brands Chery, Jaecoo, Jetour and Omoda, delivering 52,800 vehicles - an impressive increase of 186%. BYD came in third with nearly 50,000 vehicles (up 99%), followed by SAIC Motor with around 42,000 units, mainly MG models (+24%). The most impressive dynamic pace, however, was recorded by Leapmotor, whose sales skyrocketed by 324% to 14,600 vehicles.
For the first nine months of the year, these five industrial giants sold a total of 1.25 million vehicles in Europe, accounting for almost 12% of the entire European market, estimated at 10.56 million new sales - a strong jump compared to 7.4% for the same period a year earlier. And the Bulgarian automotive market follows the global transformation.
The expansion trend of the Chinese automotive industry is unfolding in full force on home soil
For the same first nine months of the year, over 4,400 new Chinese cars were registered in our country, which represents exactly 10% of the entire Bulgarian new car market. What's more - in September itself, Eastern brands achieved a historic record in Bulgaria, capturing 15.7% of monthly sales, with nearly every sixth newly registered car in the country being of a Chinese brand. Brands such as Forthing, Dongfeng, Geely, GWM and MG maintain a leading presence in our country, whose hybrid and SUV offerings are becoming a direct competitor to established European and Asian bestsellers.
This sustainable global lead is mainly due to the early orientation of the Asian industry towards electromobility, hybrid drives and alternative fuels. The domestic contraction of the Chinese market prompted manufacturers to seek intensive export, as a result of which the country's total global exports increased 1.5 times, reaching 8.62 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year.