Chinese Manufacturers Conquer USA: 5 EV Brands to Appear on Indiana Roads

The Chinese electric vehicle market is at a fast pace - some models have already been exported to Europe and will soon appear in the United States. Many American automakers are already preparing for the arrival of strong competitors - no one wants to give up their positions in the market. However, as Ford Chairman Bill Ford rightly noted in one of his interviews, the United States cannot yet compete with China in electric vehicle production. This year, China will sell about 6.81 million BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), while the United States will offer just over 1 million, according to Statista.com forecasts.

Which Chinese auto brands have recently made their American colleagues talk about themselves? Now we'll tell you!

BYD

The abbreviation BYD stands for Build Your Dreams. This ambitious message fits perfectly with the company, which was founded in 1995 and today is one of the leaders in technology, electronics, renewable energy, automobiles, and rail transport. BYD has more than 30 industrial parks on six continents, so it is a serious competitor to many manufacturers in various industries. Recently, it has increasingly been called Tesla's main rival to become the best-selling electric vehicle brand.

Experts believe that BYD EVs have every chance to conquer the American market: BYD cars are very technologically advanced and, at the same time, sold at attractive prices. For example, the cost of the Seagull hatchback presented at the Shanghai Motor Show starts at $11,000. 

Another ace up BYD's sleeve is successful investor Warren Buffett. The company was able to expand its activities internationally, in particular, in the markets of Norway, Denmark, Great Britain, Thailand, and Australia, largely thanks to his investments. In the US, BYD currently only has a small commercial vehicle business. In March of this year, the company's founder, Wang Chuanfu, said that there were no plans to enter the passenger electric vehicle market in the States, but who knows, maybe they will appear very soon.

Nio

Nio was founded in 2014 and has already achieved significant success. It has an international headquarters in Shanghai, a headquarters in Hefei, a global software R&D center in Beijing, an intelligent driving headquarters and R&D center in San Jose (USA), a design center in Munich, an advanced engineering research center in Oxford, as well as a representative office in Norway.

Nio makes premium, high-tech electric vehicles that can be even more expensive than Tesla. For example, the Nio ES7 mid-size SUV price starts at $68,000, while the Tesla Model Y may cost around $38,000. Despite this, Nio still managed to increase sales of its electric cars by 33% last year.

The company plans to enter the US market by 2025. However, it should not be expected to enter a price war with Tesla, according to William Li, CEO at Nio. Well, time will tell if Nio will be able to take its place in the sun and displace popular automakers in the United States.

Wuling

The Wuling brand, owned by a joint venture between SAIC Motors, General Motors, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors, was founded in 2002. The company has several production bases and produces commercial vehicles and passenger cars. In the global market, SGMW is better known as a major supplier of automotive parts. But its Hongguang Mini electric car has proven that competitors should not lose sight of this Chinese company.

In 2021, the small electric car surpassed even Tesla in sales in China. According to the Xinhua News Agency, in 2022, the Hongguang Mini became the best-selling car in the Middle Kingdom, surpassing 550,000 units sold. What's the secret? First of all, of course, the price starts from just $4,500. In addition, despite its size the "baby" Hongguang has the same cargo space as, for example, a Fiat 500, although the latter is longer.

In February 2023, a new version of the Wuling Air compact electric car, priced at $5,500, entered the global market and has already become the best-selling electric vehicle in Indonesia.

Zeekr

The premium car brand Zeekr is owned by Geely Auto Group, one of the largest Chinese automakers. In addition, it is the only automobile group from the Middle Kingdom that managed to be included in the list of the ten most valuable global auto brands in 2022, according to Brand Finance.

Despite Zeekr only appearing in 2021, the brand already has plans to enter the global market. In April this year, the company announced plans to sell its recently launched Zeekr X electric SUV and Zeekr 001 sedan in Western Europe. A bold statement, but, the start date for sales has not yet been announced.

The base Zeekr X starts at $27,000, while the all-wheel drive model with options and two engines starts at $30,500. The SUV is equipped with a facial recognition system that allows you to unlock the car, a special mode designed for the comfort of pets in the cabin, and owners can also install a removable refrigerator in it.

Xpeng

Xpeng is one of the leaders in intelligent mobility based on integrated Internet and artificial intelligence technologies. It was founded by former Alibaba Group executive He Xiaopeng, as well as Xia Heng and He Tao, who worked at GAC Group. In addition to production, research, and financial centers located in various cities in China, the company has an R&D center in the United States, headquarters in the Netherlands, subsidiaries in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, a logistics center in Belgium, and a competence center in Germany.

Xpeng began actively developing the European market just three years ago and continues to move towards its goal.

Xpeng's US-listed shares recently jumped more than 11%, according to Reuters. This comes after the company announced a price for its latest G6 SUV that was almost 20% lower than the Tesla Model Y in China. According to experts, monthly sales of the SUV can reach 10,000 units.

All brands have had their ups and downs, but they have proven that they are ready for tough competition and have a good chance of displacing the more famous automakers in the American market. Of course, this won’t happen right away, but judging by how quickly these Chinese companies are developing and expanding, we won’t have to wait too long.