사진 확대
Chinese automaker BYD is rapidly expanding into Hyundai Motor Company’s global sales base. As it overtakes Hyundai Motor in country after country, it is shaking up the competitive landscape of the global auto market.
According to the auto industry on the 16th, Hyundai Motor was overtaken by BYD for the first time this year in Australia, Brazil, Israel, and Finland. The benchmark was monthly sales. Hyundai Motor still remains ahead in the United States, India, and Europe as a whole. But as these first monthly reversals spread from country to country, BYD is gaining ground. The shift has been especially notable in Australia and Brazil. In Australia, BYD first surpassed Hyundai Motor in March and sold 18,881 vehicles in June. Hyundai Motor sold just 7,480 units. In July as well, BYD sold 7,857 vehicles, beating Hyundai Motor’s 5,991 by 1,866 units. BYD is gaining the upper hand in markets where Hyundai Motor has long built its sales network and brand recognition.
BYD’s momentum is also strong in Brazil, South America’s largest auto market. In May, BYD sold 21,704 vehicles, overtaking Hyundai Motor and rising to fourth place among all brands. In July, sales climbed further to 23,465 units, putting BYD 10,200 vehicles ahead of Hyundai Motor’s 13,265. Brazil is also a strategic market where Hyundai Motor has invested heavily over a long period by building local production facilities and a sales network.
BYD’s advance is spreading to Europe and the Middle East. In Finland, BYD sold 113 vehicles in July, surpassing Hyundai Motor’s 91. It was the first time BYD had beaten Hyundai Motor on a monthly basis there. In the same month last year, Hyundai Motor sold 116 vehicles, more than three times BYD’s 32, but the rankings were reversed in just one year. In Israel, BYD sold 2,145 vehicles in July, beating Hyundai Motor’s 1,989 by 156 units and recording its second monthly reversal this year. From January to July, Hyundai Motor still leads on a cumulative basis with 18,337 vehicles, ahead of BYD’s 13,714 by 4,623 units. But BYD is now posting monthly wins in more markets, regardless of size or characteristics, showing how quickly its global penetration is accelerating.
Chinese automakers, including BYD, are threatening Hyundai Motor around the world because they are leveraging the price and product competitiveness built through fierce competition at home to make overseas markets their next growth engine. What began as an offensive centered on low-cost EVs has expanded into sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and with exports now giving way to local production, analysts say Chinese brands are starting to undermine Hyundai Motor’s existing sales base.
This expansion shows that Chinese automakers are moving beyond the EV niche and into the global mass-market segment. The bigger issue is that BYD is not growing alone. Geely Automobile, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, Chery Automobile, and Leapmotor are also increasing overseas sales, broadening the Chinese offensive across the board. Based on statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the combined share of new registrations in the EU and the United Kingdom by five major Chinese automakers — Geely, SAIC, BYD, Chery, and Leapmotor — rose to 12.1% in June, up 4.4 percentage points from 7.7% a year earlier.
Their growth is also rapid. Geely Automobile sold 474,228 vehicles overseas in the first half of this year, up 158% from a year earlier, and in June it surpassed 100,000 monthly overseas sales for the first time. Chery Automobile also boosted EU sales by 267.1% to about 48,350 units in January through April this year, led by OMODA, Jaecoo, and Jetour. The problem is that Hyundai Motor is the company most directly exposed to this Chinese push. Europe, Latin America, and Oceania, where Hyundai Motor has grown in recent years by focusing on SUVs and eco-friendly vehicles, overlap substantially with the key target regions of Chinese automakers. The fact that Chinese brands are also moving into Hyundai Motor’s core segments, such as SUVs and PHEVs, is adding to the pressure.
Professor Lee Ho-geun of the Department of Future Automotive at Daeduk University said, “Chinese automakers are entering the same markets as Korean companies by combining price competitiveness with quality.” He added, “If Korea does not pull ahead in future technologies such as autonomous driving, it will be difficult to guarantee the competitiveness of the Korean auto industry 10 years from now.”
[Choo Dong-hoon / Han Ji-yeon]
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.