Chinese car brands winning the PR war
A new survey has revealed that Chinese car brands are winning the trust of UK buyers with more than 70% saying they would buy a car from a Chinese manufacturer.
BYD is the most well-known Chinese manufacturer in the UK car market, with 28% brand awareness, followed by SAIC (19%) and Chery (14%).
The survey of 301 motorists carried out by Startline Motor Finance also found that Aiways, Denza, Jaecoo, Omoda and Xpeng enjoyed double-digit brand awareness.
However, 18% of respondents said they’d be comfortable with a manufacturer already established in the UK, while 11% said they were worried about the quality of Chinese vehicles and seven per cent preferred to support British brands.
Just four per cent said they were concerned about spare parts or security.
Paul Burgess, Startline Motor Finance chief executive, said: “Chinese manufacturers are making a concerted assault on the UK market – almost 12,000 BYDs were sold here in the first four months of the year – and our research shows that consumers are receptive to the idea of buying a car from them.
“Many brands are appearing and the biggest problem that faces these new entrants is probably differentiation. Those that are investing heavily in marketing and building dealer networks on the ground are seeing the dividends in terms of consumer awareness and again, BYD is the obvious example, topping our survey.
“There is some trepidation among a minority of car buyers but concrete concerns about the kind of quality and support that can be expected from the Chinese new entrants are very low.”
