What are the current status of VW and GM in China?
- The two groups, Volkswagen and General Motors, still lead the Chinese market in 2022, although their market share has decreased in recent years. With the rise of Chinese carmakers, which now account for more than half of car sales in China, and the sharp decline of several foreign carmakers such as Hyundai-Kia, Ford or Stellantis, the Volkswagen and General Motors groups maintained their leading position in the Chinese market.
- What strategy allows these two carmakers to avoid a drop in this market? First, these two carmakers rely on several brands in their catalog (five brands for the Volkswagen Group and five brands for the General Motors Group). Compared to the Chinese groups, which have multiple brands, the brands of the VW and GM groups are better known and have been in business longer. Moreover, they do not compete with each other. Second, the Volkswagen and General Motors groups have a very broad product range that has been gradually built up over the last twenty years. For example, the VW brand has 33 different models and Audi has 12 different models. At GM, the Buick brand has 15 different models, the Chevrolet brand has 12 different models, plus 12 Baojun models, 11 Wuling models and 7 Cadillac models. In total, the VW Group has 54 models and the GM Group has 57 models, twice as many as in the most extensive model ranges of the other carmakers.
- Thus, VW's and GM's strong presence in the Chinese market is due to their long market presence and the number of models in their lineups, rather than technological lead. However, GM Group can be considered the third largest BEV seller in China (behind BYD and Tesla), thanks to the Wuling brand (in which GM has a 34% stake), which produces the Hong Guang Mini EV, sold at 572,000 units in 2022.