There are currently about 150 active brands in the Chinese automobile market. Among them are 97 Chinese domestic brands and 43 joint venture (JV) brands.[1] Before 2010, the traditional "Big Four" refers to the four major state-owned car manufacturers, SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng and Changan. Other Chinese car manufacturers, both from public and private sectors, like Geely, BAIC, BYD, Chery, GAC, Great Wall, JAC and Seres emerged as the major players with the expansion of Chinese automotive industry.
According to the civil service ranks of China, The central government controlled state-owned enterprises are ranked as Sub-Ministerial-Level Enterprise, which applies to FAW and Dongfeng. However, since Changan is the subsidiary of China South Industries Group Corporation, a Sub-Ministerial-Level Enterprise, Changan itself is ranked as Bureau-Director Level Enterprise.
FAW (China First Automobile Works Group Corporation, Chinese: 中国第一汽车集团有限公司) is a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Changchun which is directly under the control of central government of China. Founded on 15 July 1953, it is the oldest car manufacturer of the People's Republic of China. Currently FAW sells products under their different brands including Hongqi, Jiefang, and Bestune. FAW also operates joint ventures with Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi.[3][4]
Dongfeng (Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Chinese: 东风汽车集团有限公司) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, Hubei, which is directly under the control of central government of China. Originally known as Second Automobile Works when it was founded in 1969, FAW and SAW were the two major manufacturers before the Reform and Opening-up of China. It current owns Voyah, M-Hero, Aeolus, Forthing, Dongfeng Nammi and operates joint ventures including Cummins, Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, and Stellantis (PSA Peugeot Citroën).[5]
Changan (Chang'an Automobile Group, Chinese: 重庆长安汽车股份有限公司) is an automobile manufacturer headquartered in Chongqing, and is a subsidiary of China South Industries Group Corporation, an enterprise under the control of central government. It is the oldest automobile manufacturer in China which can be traced back to 1862 of Qing Dynasty. Changan designs, develops, manufactures and sells passenger cars sold under the Changan Auto, Deepal and Kaicene brand. Changan operates joint venture companies Avatr, Ford and Mazda.[6][7][8]
Local state-owned manufacturers
Local state-owned manufacturer refer to manufacturer that owned by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of local governments (instead of State Council). Most local government controlled manufacturers are ranked as Bureau-Director Level Enterprise or even lower level.
SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, Chinese:上海汽车集团股份有限公司) is a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai. It is controlled by the municipal government of Shanghai. SAIC sells vehicles under a variety of brands including IM, Rising Auto, Maxus, MG, Roewe, Wuling, Baojun, and Yuejin. Joint venture brands include Buick, Chevrolet, Iveco, Volkswagen, and Audi.[9]
GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Corporation, Chinese: 广州汽车集团股份有限公司), is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Guangzhou and controlled by the municipal government of Guangzhou. GAC sells passenger cars under the Trumpchi, Aion, Hyptec brand and operates foreign joint ventures with Honda and Toyota.[10]
JAC (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corporation, Chinese: 安徽江淮汽车集团股份有限公司) is a state-owned enterprise based in Hefei, Anhui Province and controlled by the Provincial Government of Anhui. It owns the brands of JAC, JAC EV, Sehol, and collaborates with Huawei under Maextro brand.[12]
Chery (Chery Automobile, Chinese: 奇瑞汽车股份有限公司), a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer based in Anhui and controlled by the municipal government of Wuhu. It sells cars under the Chery, Exeed, Jetour and iCar brands. It also has a foreign joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover for the production of Jaguar and Land Rover cars in China.[13]
State-private mixed ownership manufacturer
Seres (Seres Group, Chinese: 赛力斯集团股份有限公司), is one of the first state-private mixed ownership manufacturer in China. Headquartered in Chongqing, it is currently co-owned by the founder's family, the state-owned company Dongfeng and municipal government of Chongqing. It used to be famous for producing light commercial vehicles and budget passenger vehicles but is transforming to produce premium electric vehicle since 2021 after partnering with Chinese tech giant Huawei. It owns the brands of Seres, AITO, Fengon, Landian and DFSK.[14]
Notable privately owned manufacturers
BYD (BYD Auto, Chinese: 比亚迪汽车有限公司), is an automobile manufacturer based in Shenzhen, founded by BYD Company which are known for their batteries. It is currently the largest electric vehicle manufacturer of the world. It operates brands such as BYD, Denza, Fangchengbao, and Yangwang.[15]
Geely (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Chinese: 浙江吉利控股集团有限公司), is the one of the biggest privately owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Currently one of the fastest growing automotive groups in the world, Geely is known for its ownership of the Swedish luxury car brand Volvo Cars, its performance counterpart Polestar, and the British sports car company Lotus. It also owns the brands of Geely, Livan, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, Volvo Cars, LEVC, Farizon, Radar, Ji Yue, Proton and Smart.[16]
GWM (Great Wall Motor, Chinese: 长城汽车股份有限公司), is a private company famous for manufacturing SUVs headquartered in Baoding, Hebei. GWM sells vehicles under the brands of Haval, Wey, Tank and Ora. It operates a joint venture called Spotlight Automotive with BMW Group to produce Mini brand 5electric cars.[17]
Li Auto (Beijing Car And Home Information Technology, Chinese: 北京车和家信息技术有限公司) is a startup manufacturer founded in 2015. It is specialized in developing and manufacturing premium range-extender electric vehicles and has rapidly grown into a major player in Chinese automobile market.[18]
Notable smaller startup manufacturers
Nio (Shanghai Nio Automobile, Chinese: 上海蔚来汽车有限公司) is an EV startup manufacturer founded in 2014 and headquartered in Shanghai. The company is noted for its battery-swapping stations and premium EV.
Xpeng (Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, Chinese: 广州小鹏汽车科技有限公司) is an EV startup manufacturer founded in 2014 and headquartered in Guangzhou. Together with Nio and Li Auto, it is one of the first EV companies in China. Volkswagen Group acquired a 5% of stake Xpeng in 2023.
Leapmotor (Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, Chinese: 浙江零跑科技股份有限公司) is an EV manufacturer hounded in 2015, headquartered in Hangzhou. Stellantis acquired a 20% stake of Leapmotor in 2023.
Hozon (Zhejiang Hozon Auto New Energy Automobile, Chinese: 浙江合众新能源汽车有限公司), is an EV manufacturer headquartered in Hangzhou. It is a state-private mixed ownership manufacturer which is invested mainly by Chinese tech company Qihoo 360 and three local governments of Yichun, Tongxiang and Nanning. It produces vehicles under the Neta brand.
Xiaomi Auto (Xiaomi Automobile Co., Ltd, Chinese: 小米汽车有限公司) is the subsidiary of Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi that produces EVs. It was founded in 2021 in Beijing and launched its first product, the Xiaomi SU7 in 2024. Xiaomi is currently the only Chinese tech company that is directly involved in automotive manufacturing.
Foreign and joint venture manufacturers
Following the Chinese economic reform, from 1994 to 2018, Chinese automotive policy mandated that foreign carmakers had to establish joint ventures with a Chinese counterpart to produce vehicles in the country, with the Chinese partner owning at least 50% of the venture. This measure was implemented to protect local manufacturers and provide it with the chance to bridge the technology gap and develop their brands.[21]
On April 17, 2018. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China announced that foreign ownership limits on automakers would be phased out over a 5-year period.[22][23] On 28 July 2018, China lifted foreign ownership restrictions on new energy vehicle production, which benefited American electric car manufacturer Tesla, Inc. The company established a plant in Shanghai, becoming the first foreign automaker to open a wholly-owned manufacturing facility in China.[24][25] The liberalization was followed by commercial vehicles in 2020 and passenger cars in 2022. The rule that prohibited foreign automakers from setting up more than two joint ventures in China was also lifted in 2022. Therefore, it became legally possible for the foreign automakers to buy out local partners from joint ventures. In 2022, BMW and Volkswagen had acquired 75% stake in their joint ventures.[26][27]
Foreign manufacturers
The following are foreign manufacturers that operate in China either through wholly-owned manufacturing plants or joint ventures where they own more than 50 percent of the shares.
Tesla
Gigafactory Shanghai (Tesla is the first and currently the only 100% foreign-owned car manufacturer in Chinese mainland)[28]
In the 1990s, Chinese automakers pursued Western technology through joint ventures. However, a reversal occurred in the 2020s, with Western manufacturers now seeking technological assistance from Chinese counterparts and invested in China through joint ventures.[31] Several Chinese electric vehicle startups have leveraged their technological advantages, attracting investments from traditional Western automotive giants such as Renault-Nissan, VW, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Stellantis.
In 2017, Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng set up a joint venture called "eGT New Energy Automotive" to produce A-segment EV.[32]
In 2019, Mercedes-Benz announced the establishment of a joint venture partnership with Chinese automaker Geely.[33] Geely acquired 50% of Smart brand to produce EVs based on Geely's SEA platform.[34]
In July 2019, Renault Group announced a capital injection of 1 billion yuan to acquire a 50% stake in JMEV, an EV subsidiary of Jiangling Motors Corporation.[35]
In 2020, BMW and Great Wall Motor invested RMB 5.1 billion on a joint venture Spotlight Automotive to produce the Mini brand EV using the technology of Great Wall Motor.[36]
In 2020, Toyota announced its joint venture with Chinese manufacturer BYD. The joint venture was set to assist technical know-how for Toyota's EV development and supply the battery, electric motor and electronic control unit for Toyota's EV.[37]Toyota bZ3, the first electric sedan of Toyota, was built under the assistance of BYD with its technology.
In July 2023, Audi and SAIC announced their partnership that the EV platform from IM Motors, the brand of SAIC, will be introduced into Audi's electric models.[38]
In July 2023, Volkswagen Group announced its investment of $700 million in XPeng, the EV startup venture from China, for purchasing 4.99% stake of the company. The VW will collaborate with XPeng to develop two VW brand electric models for the mid-size segment in the Chinese market in 2026.[39][40]
In August 2023, Geely and Renault decided to set a joint venture codenamed Horse with each entity holding 50% stake, to manufacture internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid powertrains for Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicle with Geely's technology.[41]
In September 2023, Ford and Changan announced to establish a new joint venture Changan Ford NEV, to produce and distribute Ford vehicles based on Changan's technology of electric vehicle. Changan holds 70% stake in the JV while Ford holds 30%.[42][43]
In October 2023, Stellantis announced its investment to Leapmotor at the price of 1.5 billion euro, acquiring 20% of Leapmotor for the support of technology to produce EVs.[44]
In April 2024, Toyota introduced the bZ3X which was jointly developed with GAC Group and GAC Toyota.[45]
In June 2024, Jaguar Land Rover and Chery signed a letter of intent to create a new EV brand called Freelander that will be based on an EV platform from Exeed.[46]
Involvement of Chinese technology industry in the automotive industry
Since the 2020s, Chinese technology corporations such as Huawei, Baidu, DJI with their advanced software or hardware technological capability started entering the automotive business by various approaches.
Huawei's partnership with automobile manufacturers has taken the form of three business models, from the standardized parts supply model, the "Huawei Inside" (HI) model, and the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA).[47][48] Baidu and DJI has been providing autonomous driving system and hardware to automotive manufacturers.[49][50]Qihoo 360 invested in the Chinese EV startup company Hozon Auto.[51]Geely collaborates with Baidu to set up joint venture brands, and acquired Chinese smartphone company Meizu for its Polestar and Lynk & Co brands with its auto OS and AR system. Xiaomi is the first and the only Chinese tech company that is directly involved in automotive design, development and manufacturing, and operates its factory in Beijing.[52]
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