These cars are poised to take over our roads, and they are all made in China
BYD's electric vehicles are second in popularity only to Elon Musk's Tesla within the Australian landscape. The two brands collectively represented more than half of sales across the first three quarters of 2024, the Electric Vehicle Council said.
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The company, based in southern China's Shenzhen, recently announced an ultra-fast EV charging system it says can provide a full charge for its latest EVs within five to eight minutes, about as long as a fill-up. It plans to build more than 4000 of the new charging stations across China.
The Chinese company started out making batteries and has been refining its battery and energy storage technology while building an auto empire that is expanding outside China.
While BYD's fanciest, latest premium models are expected to sell for up to about $US40,000 ($62,000), it also makes much less expensive EVs including the Seagull, which sells for about $US12,000 in China. BYD nudged ahead of Tesla in production of battery-powered EVs in 2024, making 1,777,965 compared with Tesla's 1,773,443.
Great Wall Motors
Great Wall Motors, with the Haval, Wey, Ora, Poer and Tank brands, is banking on overseas sales to keep growing after its sales inside China fell by nearly 15 per cent last year, even as the company's net profit jumped more than 80 per cent.
The company has factories in Russia, Thailand and Brazil, where it is challenging Toyota's popular Hilux pick-up truck with its GWM Poer, a hybrid pick-up of its own. Another mainstay is the Haval H6, a hybrid sports SUV. In Australia, the Haval, Poer and Ora brands are available for sale, with Wey instead choosing to focus on the European market.
GWM is the seventh best-selling car manufacturer in Australia so far in 2025 – with more than 4800 vehicles sold in March, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. While this includes EV and internal combustion engine sales, it is indicative of growing market overall.
Great Wall has smoothed its transition to overseas production by buying factories of other automakers. In Thailand, it took over a factory formerly operated by General Motors. In Brazil, it purchased a former Mercedes-Benz plant.
'It is essential for volume to be big, otherwise the cost of production is too high,' Great Wall's chairman, Wei Jianjun, said in a media huddle at the show.
Wei, who also goes by the name Jack Wey, was born in Beijing but moved to nearby Hebei, home of the Great Wall. He led the company's transition from vehicle modification to automaking, becoming China's biggest maker of pickup trucks and a leading SUV maker. The company has a joint venture for EVs with BMW.
Chery
State-owned Chery Automobile says it was the first Chinese automaker to export overseas. It has sold more than 15 million of its Chery, Exeed, Omoda and Jetour models overseas, mostly in the developing world and emerging markets, including Turkey and Ukraine. Chery reported selling 2.6 million vehicles overseas last year and is aiming for three million in 2025. It's quickly expanding overseas production, setting up factories in Russia and Spain. It is expanding rapidly in Latin America.
The manufacturer launched in Australia in March 2023, and made its 20,000th overall sale earlier this year. The Omoda E5, its electric vehicle offering, was given a price cut in January due to poor sales in the Australian market.
Chery's tie-up with EV-maker Visionary Vehicles aimed to sell in North America but has not yet achieved that goal. The company has a 50-50 joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which is a subsidiary of Tata Motors of India that makes Jaguars and Land Rovers in China. It also collaborates with Huawei Technologies and e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Chery still sells far more fuel-engine cars than EVs. Its battery electric vehicle company, Chery New Energy, makes minivehicles like the eQ1, or Small Ant, and the QQ Ice Cream. Its mainstays are the Tiggo lineup of SUVs and its Arrizo sedans.
Geely
Geely Auto is perhaps the most famous Chinese automaker that many people have never heard of. The privately held company was founded as a refrigerator-maker by businessman Li Shufu in 1997 in eastern China's Taizhou, which early on became a hub of private industry.
Li began making strategic overseas acquisitions early on, buying Sweden's Volvo from Ford Motor in 2010. Geely's purchase of a 49.9 per cent stake in Malaysia's Proton gave it a 51 per cent stake in luxury sports car brand Lotus. It formed a 50-50 joint venture to make Smart city cars with Germany's Daimler AG. It also works with Renault of France on powertrains and owns a stake in Aston Martin Lagonda.
In March, it launched sales of its Geely EX5 SUVs in Australia and New Zealand, adding to its global reach. Geely and Volvo own Swedish automaker Polestar, which has struggled in the US market. As of March, only 389 Polestar vehicles had been sold in Australia during 2025, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
Wuling
China's second-best selling EV brand in China is Wuling, a joint venture of Shanghai's SAIC Motor, General Motors and Guangxi Auto. It sold more than 673,000 EVs in China and has a market share of only 6 per cent compared with BYD's nearly one-third share. Tesla came in third at 659,000 cars sold.
Apart from its Baojun sedans and vans, Wuling mainly makes engines, commercial vehicles and special purpose vehicles like mini-EVs and golf carts. The brand is not available for purchase in Australia.
Dongfeng, Changan and Nio
Other major Chinese brands of EVs include Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto and Leap Motor. State-run giants like Dongfeng Motor Group, which has an alliance with Nissan, and Changan Automobile, a partner with Japan's Mazda and with Ford, are also quickly expanding EV sales.
While none of these brands are being sold in Australia, all three have previously indicated interest in expanding their market.
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