These are the most popular e-car brands - two manufacturers are ahead of them all

Which car manufacturers are successful with more climate-friendly electric cars and which are lagging behind? An overview.

The electric car market is currently dominated by two manufacturers: Tesla and BYD from China.

Electric car pioneer Tesla sold almost 1.3 million electric cars in the first nine months of the year, 124,000 more than its rival BYD. However, a year ago Tesla was still leading with 276,000 units after nine months.

Tesla continues to sell the most battery-electric cars, often abbreviated as BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). Elon Musk's car company suffered a 2.6 percent decline in sales compared to the previous year, and 11.8 percent fewer Teslas were sold in Europe. Tesla's weakness in Europe helped BYD close the gap. The Chinese grew by 11.6 percent globally. BYD could even intercept the Musk Group by the end of the year.

Volkswagen and Geely are in third place with just over half a million electric cars each by the end of September. Geely, with well-known brands such as Volvo and Polestar, is the rising star of the year with an increase of 51 percent. Like BYD, Geely has a particularly high share of electric cars in total sales. The Chinese are now just ahead of Volkswagen (-4.7% compared to the previous year) and well ahead of SGMW (another large Chinese manufacturer) and Hyundai-Kia in 6th place (-8.1%).

The promoted and relegated teams
In addition to VW (rank 4), BMW (rank 7) and Mercedes (rank 10) are also in the top 10. While the electric cars from BWM are selling better and better (+19%), the luxurious electric cars from Mercedes are increasingly staying the same the dealers (-22%). The Germans are now hoping for the electric Mercedes CLA, which will set new standards in terms of range and efficiency.

At Stellantis (9th place, -17%) with brands such as Peugeot and Opel, the flattening sales of the Fiat 500 and the delayed market launch of the inexpensive Citroën E-C3 small car resulted in a big loss. Things are going even worse at Renault: the French fell from 13th place last year to 21st place. Renault must hope that the new electric version of the Renault 5 will turn things around.

The stragglers
The major US car manufacturers are ranked 13th (General Motors) and 25th (Ford). While GM gained 56 percent and gained two places, Ford fell eight positions (-17%). The F-150 Lightning electric pickup is a flop at Ford, and in Europe the Americans don't yet have an electric small car in their portfolio. Even the smartphone manufacturer and neo-car manufacturer Xiaomi sells more electric cars than Ford with just one model.

The world's largest car manufacturer, Toyota, in 17th place, isn't pulling any punches either. Only a good one percent of all Toyotas sold are fully electric. The other major Japanese manufacturers are in 23rd place (Nissan) and 30th (Honda). The Japanese are prioritizing hybrid vehicles and are consciously taking their time with new electric cars. With this strategy you benefit from the global hybrid boom. But recently Toyota and Nissan have also had to accept massive drops in profits because the Chinese are switching to fully electric cars from domestic production more quickly than the Japanese probably thought.

Why Chinese manufacturers dominate
China is by far the largest market for electric cars, ahead of Europe and North America. Almost every third new car sold in China is fully electric, and the trend is rising rapidly. In Europe, electric cars have a market share of 15 percent, followed by the USA with 10 percent.

This is reflected in the ranking of the largest electric car manufacturers: About half of the 30 largest electric car manufacturers come from the Middle Kingdom. You benefit from government funding and the huge and rapidly growing domestic market. The tough price war between dozens of Chinese and foreign suppliers means that electric cars in China are now on average cheaper than combustion or hybrid cars. By 2030, almost only new electric cars will be on the roads in urban areas.

The lead in battery technology is the key to China's electric car dominance. BYD, for example, is not only the world's second largest electric car manufacturer, but also now number 2 in the battery market. The fact that the number one – CATL – also comes from China underlines this dominance.

An electric car from China? Rather not
Western and Japanese car manufacturers are rapidly losing market share in China - even Tesla is coming under a lot of pressure. Conversely, BYD and Co. are paying the price in the West. The market share of Chinese car manufacturers in Western Europe is languishing at just a few percent. A lack of brand awareness, a lack of dealer network and customers' reservations about China are just some of the hurdles that the Chinese are working through. 
And with the EU's new punitive tariffs on electric cars built in China, the situation isn't getting any easier.

The North American market is probably completely lost for most Chinese car manufacturers. US President Joe Biden has increased tariffs on electric cars from China to 100 percent. At best, Donald Trump will go one better and cancel the current subsidies for electric cars. This is a very bad prospect for Chinese electric car manufacturers.

In short: Conquering the West will not be a sure-fire success for the Chinese e-car industry.

Oliver Wietlisbach

https://www.watson.ch