China’s automakers only play a minor role globally when it comes to production figures. At least that is the Western interpretation, in which the eleven largest corporations come from Japan, Europe, the USA and Korea. The consulting company Inovev has now calculated the Chinese way and draws a different picture – this already sees the largest Chinese manufacturer in sixth place.
First place is undisputed: in both perspectives, Toyota was number one worldwide in 2022. In the western calculation, the Japanese came to almost 10.5 million cars, according to the Chinese it was almost two million fewer. Because in this case, the vehicles built in Chinese joint ventures do not belong to Toyota, but to FAW or GAC, the domestic partners. Cars built jointly with SAIC and FAW also fall out of the equation at Volkswagen, which is why the northern Germans are second in the west slipping down to fourth place. Hyundai-Kia and Stellantis, both of which have low production in China, can benefit. On the other hand, the losers included American General Motors, which maintains a total of ten joint ventures in China, including with SAIC. According to Chinese figures, SAIC is number six in the world with almost 5 million units including joint venture vehicles , at a similar level as the VW and Renault-Nissan with adjusted production numbers. FAW comes in ninth, DFM and GAC in eleventh and twelfth. Geely, Changan, BYD and BAIC complete the top 20. China corporations tap know-how The pronounced joint venture phenomenon in China has political reasons. Western car makers who wanted to sell their vehicles in China had to build plants locally and operate them jointly with Chinese companies. The government rightly hoped that this would result in a sustained transfer of technology that domestic companies could use for their own development. VW was the first Western manufacturer to get involved, which was rewarded with decades of market leadership and millions in sales. (SPX)
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