Sometimes the world’s biggest car market is not enough. Struggling with ferocious competition at home, China’s big electric-vehicle makers, led by BYD, have turned to growth abroad. New horizons though, can’t hide the fact that the industry’s growth is shifting down a gear, and racy valuations are increasingly only seen in rear-view mirrors.
From the BYD Dolphin to the MG4, made by SAIC-owned MG Motor, Chinese cars have become commonplace in the driveways of Europe, Australia and swaths of Latin America. China’s EV exports doubled last year to 2.6mn units. Of those, just under half were produced overseas in one of the 16 countries in which BYD and rivals have, or are planning, plants. By 2030, their overseas operations will produce about 3.4mn cars, AlixPartners estimates.
China Inc’s total overseas sales still pale next to the estimated 3.5mn vehicles BYD alone sold at home last year, but a chill in their backyard is what fuels their race around the world. Government policy helped boost EVs to roughly half of new car sales in the biggest Chinese cities, but Beijing is switching its attention — and subsidies — to newer sectors such as AI and robotics.