The market share of the VW joint ventures FAW and SAIC in the world's largest automobile market shrank from 14.8 to 14.2 percent, as the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) announced on Wednesday. Toyota's Chinese joint ventures with GAC and FAW had a combined share of 7.9 percent compared to 8.6 percent in 2022. While the two car companies are still among the top ten in China in terms of gasoline sales, they are lagging behind in terms of e-cars.

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, which toppled US rival Tesla in the fourth quarter, increased its lead in the domestic market to 12.5 percent compared to 8.8 percent in 2022. The figures show how foreign long-established car manufacturers in China are losing out to local competitors and are struggling to keep up with the transition to e-mobility.

Sales of purely battery-powered vehicles rose by 20.8 percent in China last year. Due to the hesitant demand for new cars, a price war has been raging in the world's largest car market since the beginning of 2023, which was instigated by US electric car manufacturer Tesla and has since spread to more than 40 brands.

(Report by Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh, written by Anneli Palmen, edited by Ralf Bode. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)