The dominance of ‘Made in China’ in the electric bus market is undeniable. What is the competitive edge of Chinese buses?
According to Kaizu, sales of Chinese electric buses last year reached 3,978 units, accounting for 77.8% of total electric bus sales of 5,113 units. Xin Yuan Automotive topped the sales chart with 1,064 units, followed by Geely with 850 units. Dominating the route bus market, BYD and Haiger sold 439 and 394 units, respectively, while CHTC Epicity recorded 131 units.
Despite the fierce competition from Chinese electric buses, Hyundai’s Elec City managed to maintain its stature with sales of 1,053 units (including 267 hydrogen-electric buses).
The reason why Chinese electric buses continue to perform well in the market relates to government subsidy cuts.
Last year, to curb nearly half of the market share held by Chinese electric buses, the government reduced subsidies for electric vehicles produced by Chinese manufacturers by 70%. As a result of the subsidy cuts, Chinese brands launched various marketing promotions, such as vehicle price cashback, showcasing their sales prowess to transport operators. Ultimately, the government’s policy of encouraging domestic product purchases failed and inadvertently boosted the Chinese brand’s market presence.
Secondly, there are the after-sales service teams that respond immediately when a malfunction occurs. Currently, most maintenance teams within transportation businesses cannot service electric buses. If a failure occurs, a dedicated after-sales team from the manufacturer must respond.
Dealers importing BYD and Haiger have established rapid response teams that immediately address bus malfunctions reported by transportation companies, thereby reducing the operational burden of electric vehicles for them. If a bus breaks down, the operational loss for the business can be substantial. Thus, Chinese electric buses providing robust after-sales service have become an attractive option for carefully calculating transportation operators. Although major local governments, including Seoul, have mandated rules for purchasing domestic vehicles, the sales of Chinese electric buses have increased significantly.
Cutting subsidies does not necessarily lead to a drop in sales. Chinese electric buses demonstrate this quite well. How can we reclaim the market lost to Chinese electric buses? Now is the time for fundamental countermeasures.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr