China's largest, premium SUVs are set to go on sale in Europe after dominating their home market The claim that China’s car industry is exporting its overcapacity isn’t…
China's largest, premium SUVs are set to go on sale in Europe after dominating their home market The claim that China’s car industry is exporting its overcapacity isn’t being disproven by the recent decisions of brands including BYD, Freelander, iCaur, Jetour and Zeekr to sell 5m-long SUVs in Europe. Chinese brands have been persuasive in selling us SUVs slightly bigger than our normal comfort zone of around 4.5m, but these Goliaths are well outside that.
This isn’t a targeted strategy but more a spray-and-pray, given that 5m-long SUVs here are a tiny category dominated by a handful of entrenched premium brands. These ‘9-series’ SUVs (so-called because most have a 9 in their name) are a booming category in China as local brands look to more profitable segments. Without too much effort I counted more than 20 of these monsters on sale there, most launched within the past year. Their specs are eye-popping.
In an effort to derail Land Rover and the German premium brands, the likes of Aito, Leapmotor, Luxeed, Nio and Xiaomi have chucked the kitchen sink at their home-grown alternatives. Most are range-extender EVs, with 50kWh-plus batteries, an 800V electrical architecture for ultra-rapid charging, air suspension, sub-5.0sec 0-62mph times and lavish interiors. The inspiration of the Range Rover and/or the Defender can be clearly seen in their designs. Either you’re off to the opera or Outer Mongolia.
If it’s the latter, perhaps the Xiaomi Skynomad N90 might suit, with its camper van-style pop-up roof and one-touch bed mode for the second and third row of seats. This voracious competition is gobbling up the established premium brands in China, which are losing sales at a frightening rate. “In China the market is rapidly declining, and especially for the Western premium manufacturers,” said a gloomy Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s CEO, last month.
Most successful is the BYD Fangchengbao Ti7, which, astonishingly for a 5m-long SUV, sneaked into China’s top 10 best-selling models chart in August. This car is now available in the UK as the plain BYD Ti7 plug-in hybrid, starting at £47,995. Other brands are being even more bullish. Geely-owned Zeekr is offering its opulent 9X, another huge plug-in hybrid SUV, for €119,500 in Germany and France. Now comes the crunch. These behemoths meet or beat the local premium SUVs on tech.
This is a source-linked briefing. Read the original report from Autocar .