Each country has its own car brand that it is proud of. United Kingdom has Land Rover, known for its luxury and off-road performance; Japan has Toyota, known for its reliable quality and wide product line; There is Mercedes-Benz in Germany, which stands for high-end and exquisite craftsmanship; Korea is modern and excels in value for money and design. So, what kind of cars does China have?
Looking back on the development of the world's automobile industry, we have experienced many profound changes. From the invention of the first automobile by Carl · Benz, to the creation of the assembly line production method by Henry · Ford, to the introduction of lean production by Toyota, the automobile has gradually become popular and has continued to develop.
In the past, when it came to the automobile market, people often thought of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi in Germany, Bentley, Land Rover and Jaguar in Britain, and Honda, Toyota and Nissan in Japan. With their long history, craftsmanship and performance, they have long dominated the global automotive market.
However, with the rapid advancement of Chinese technology, domestic cars have achieved amazing corner overtaking over the past two decades. Today, Chinese car brands have become an important player in the global automotive industry and have won wide recognition. The data is the best proof of this, in 2021, the mainland's automobile exports reached 2.015 million units, becoming the world's third largest automobile exporter; jumped to 3.4 million units in 2022, surpassing Germany; In 2023, it will exceed 5.22 million units, surpassing Japan for the first time and becoming the world's largest exporter of automobile trade.
Behind this brilliant achievement, many excellent domestic car companies have made great contributions. Hongqi, as a banner of China's automobile industry, has always been synonymous with high-quality cars. In 1958, China's first automobile, the Hongqi sedan, rolled off the production line at FAW, shattering the myth that China could not build a car in Western countries. Today, Hongqi Automobile has built a R&D system of "one institute and four institutes", forming a global R&D layout of "three countries and five regions", with a complete product line, covering sedans (Hongqi H5, Hongqi H9), SUVs (Hongqi HS5, HS7), MPV (Hongqi HQ9) and sports cars (Hongqi S9).
Great Wall Motors, which has performed well in the field of SUVs and pickup trucks, is loved by consumers for its high cost performance and good performance.
Chery Automobile adheres to independent innovation, continuously invests in technology research and development, and has strong core technical strength.
Geely Automobile has continuously improved its brand influence and technical level through acquisitions and partnerships.
BYD took the lead in carrying the banner of domestic new energy vehicles. It has mastered many core technologies such as blade battery, DM-i hybrid, and CTB body integration, and its sales continue to skyrocket. In October 2024 alone, BYD's sales volume reached 217,800 units, and its sales from January to October have reached 1,402,900 units, a year-on-year increase of 158.52%. After the Dolphin and Seal, the Ocean series will launch the Hiace, a mid-size SUV with a crossover coupe SUV design, which is sporty and muscular in line.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that NIO, a domestic luxury car brand, has quickly become one of the world's leading luxury cars in just a few years with its strong technical accumulation and cutting-edge technical strength. NIO's high-end luxury models even surpassed German, British and Japanese luxury brands in terms of sales, especially in the 500,000-yuan luxury car market, breaking the long-term market monopoly of German cars and becoming a dark horse in the field of new energy vehicles.
Take the NIO ES6 as an example, it is a smart electric all-round SUV with a number of NIO's full-stack self-developed core technologies. In terms of energy replenishment, it has an innovative mode of "rechargeable, replaceable and upgradeable", which solves the anxiety of battery life and energy replenishment of trams. In terms of appearance, the smooth body lines are integrated with the sporty front face shape, and the two-tone waistline and two-tone body shape, wide shoulder design, frameless door handles and other elements show a sense of luxury and sportiness. The intelligent cockpit is full of futuristic technology, equipped with a super large screen and a cute NOMI intelligent assistant, which can realize voice control of various operations, provide personalized services and suggestions, and make the driving experience more convenient and comfortable.
Not only that, NIO is also keenly aware of market demand, and established its second brand "Ledao" in mid-May this year. The Ledao L60 is its first electric midsize SUV and is positioned for family use. It adopts a new design language, with sharp body lines and fastback supercar styling to bring a strong visual impact, and the design meaning of "upward road, forward bravely" is also unique. The length of the vehicle reaches 4828mm, the wheelbase is 2950mm, and the interior space is spacious. In terms of safety, it adopts a steel-aluminum hybrid double-cabin body, uses a large number of 2000MPa submarine-grade high-strength steel, has undergone 59 crash tests, far exceeding industry standards, and is also equipped with 45 active intelligent safety assistance configurations. In terms of power, it inherits NIO's strong power system, developed based on the NT3.0 technology platform, adopts a 900V silicon carbide platform and BaaS battery solution, and is available in two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions, with a front MacPherson + rear five-link independent suspension, with FSD variable damping suspension, and its lithium iron phosphate battery has a power consumption of only 12.1 kWh per 100 kilometers, with excellent energy consumption.
In addition, all NIO models are equipped with 4 NVIDIA Orin-x chips as standard, with a total computing power of up to 1016tops, providing powerful computing power support for the intelligent driving system, which not only meets the current needs of intelligent driving, but also reserves sufficient redundancy space for continuous intelligent iteration in the next few years. At the same time, NIO has built more than 2,400 battery swap stations across the country, and combined with the latest intelligence and battery swap technology, car owners can find nearby battery swap stations through voice control NOMI robots, and complete battery swapping in three minutes, solving the energy replenishment anxiety of new energy vehicle owners. The basic layout of battery swap stations and the continuous expansion of the battery swap alliance have also made users more aware of the convenience of energy replenishment and the improvement of battery life and attenuation problems brought by battery swapping, which has further improved the value retention rate of NIO models.
The rise of Chinese auto brands is not accidental, but the result of the long-term efforts of many car companies. Continuous investment in technology research and development, strict quality control, accurate insight into market demand and the spirit of continuous innovation have made remarkable progress in appearance design, intelligent configuration, and scientific and technological research and development.
In the past, cars looked at Europe; In the future, cars look to the East. Chinese automobiles are shining on the world stage with a new attitude, they are not only a means of transportation, but also a symbol of technology, innovation and quality. With the continuous progress of technology and the further expansion of the market, Chinese auto brands will continue to lead the development direction of the industry, bring more high-quality auto products to global consumers, and write a glorious chapter of Chinese automobiles!