Sales of Chinese brand vehicles in Australia for April 2024 and YTD, with brand rank and YoY change.
April 2024
MG 3781 sales, 8th, +9% YoY
GWM 3330 sales, 9th, +50% YoY
BYD 1410 sales, 18th, +26% YoY
LDV 1178 sales, 20th, -18% YoY
Chery 585 sales, 24th, +38% YoY*
2024 YTD
MG 16,210 sales, 9th, +2% YoY
GWM 13,531 sales, 12th, +30% YoY
BYD 5891 sales, 16th, +83% YoY
LDV 5723 sales, 18th, -11% YoY
Chery 2498 sales, 23rd, +488%* YoY
* Chery only launched in Australia in April 2023 so this is the first month for which we have comparable YoY sales data. Chery's 488% growth figure in the YTD table is therefore comparing one month of sales (April 2023) against four (Jan-April 2024).
Lots of noise about BYD in Australia recently. Wang Chuanfu briefly visited a few weeks back to inaugurate a new brand flagship store in Melbourne and announced plans for BYD Australia to more than double its dealer and service location network to 100 locations by end 2025. The local arm has also recently announced an intent to bring all vehicle servicing in-house rather than through arrangement with third-party company MyCar as has been the case to date, while the number of BYD vehicle models apparently being considered for our shores seems to grow by the month. I'm skeptical that some of the more grandiose rhetoric and targets will be met anytime soon, but even with due skepticism there is a clear growth trajectory evident and good reason to think that will continue.
Now that the servicing situation is being taken care of, my next suggestion for BYD in Australia would be to simplify the warranty structure. As with any new brand, the most pressing questions for prospective buyers are about the reliability of the vehicle, and the support experience they can expect if something goes wrong. A complicated warranty structure with varying coverage for different components makes people think you have something to hide and therefore undermines confidence in the brand. In 2014, Kia was the first brand to commit to a 7-year warranty in Australia, and that easily comprehensible, easy marketable point was a significant factor both in closing the gap on historically more successful sister-brand Hyundai and now firmly entrenching themselves in the Top 6.
After criticising GWM (which has otherwise been quite successful of late) for failing to promote its Ora EV here, I should acknowledge that they did give it about 1 second of coverage in
"brand overview" ad that I saw broadcast during an AFL match, i.e. prime time viewing.
