More than half of U.S. drivers thinking about buying an electric vehicle knew the names of Chinese automakers
April 28, 2024 at 4:10 p.m
- More than half of potential electric vehicle buyers in America are already familiar with Chinese car brands.
- Young drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 know them even better.
- Seven in 10 said they would consider buying a Chinese electric car if it cost 20 percent less than a Western car.
Currently, you can’t even buy a Chinese-branded car in America, but the threat from Asian automakers is already a headache for U.S. companies. And American buyers’ awareness of Chinese electric vehicles, found in a new study, will only add to that stress.
Companies like GM and Ford are concerned that Chinese brands are trying to set up shop in Mexico to gain backdoor access to the North American market, but the Big Three could at least take comfort in the knowledge that there is one for these Chinese brands It would take forever to build any brand awareness.
Related: Mexico ends incentives for Chinese automakers amid U.S. pressure
Well, that’s probably what they were hoping for, but new research shows that American electric vehicle buyers already know about the Chinese brands that Detroit wants to exclude. A significant 58 percent of U.S. buyers who were either very likely or moderately likely to purchase an electric vehicle their next car purchase were familiar with Chinese brands such as BYD, Leapmotor and Nio. Car News Reports.
The numbers come from the AlixPartners 2024 International Electric Vehicle Consumer-Sentiment Survey, which surveyed 9,000 drivers worldwide in March and April, including 2,000 in the United States. It found that awareness of Chinese brands in the U.S. was even stronger among younger drivers ages 18 to 25.
The data also showed that 73 percent of American drivers would consider buying an electric car from a Chinese brand if the price was 20 percent lower than that of an electric car from a non-Chinese automaker. And while that sounds like a big price drop – and wouldn’t be achievable on pure imports from China due to taxes – one can certainly imagine it being possible for electric vehicles built in and imported from Mexico.
But AlixPartners says large upfront savings may not be enough to secure a sale and that American buyers may still be hesitant to make a purchase due to concerns about factors such as reliability, service quality and brand image.
Chinese buyers have had the same concerns in the past, but have overcome them and now view Chinese-branded electric vehicles as competitive with Western brands.
