There are a total of 137 car brands to take off in China. But only 19 of them will be healthy businesses with black numbers on the bottom line, says the research firm.
The Chinese car industry is gaining momentum. But it also comes at a price. Only one out of seven of the country's car brands will be able to make money in 2030.
The rest will be loss-making businesses to a greater or lesser extent. This is shown by a calculation from the research firm Alixpartners, which the financial media Bloomberg refers to.
There are currently 137 car brands fighting for customers in China. And although there are many Chinese, there are far from enough drivers among them for the country's car industry to be a roaring profit business. On the contrary.
The brutal prediction comes on top of the brutal price war that the Chinese car brands themselves have fueled. And there's no sign that it's waning in strength.
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Only the largest companies – such as BYD, which for long periods lived by copying e.g. Mercedes and BMW – earn so much from their cars that they can actually afford to lower prices.
The price war has already cost the top Chinese brand its life. VM Motor went bankrupt in 2023, and Alixpartners expects many more car brands to follow that path.
One Chinese brand getting ready to cut back is Polestar. According to information in the Chinese media, preparations are being made for a round of layoffs that is even more brutal than the latest one, which also cost jobs in Denmark. Read more about it here .
Something completely third is the overtime of the Chinese. The employees at the car factories make it through 140 overtime hours. This should be compared with an average of 20 overtime hours at the more established car brands.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here