When certain politicians in the United Kingdom were trying to persuade their fellow citizens to vote to leave the European Union, an argument I don’t remember ever hearing was that Brexit would make it easier for Chinese carmakers to expand their reach in the country. After spending a week with the nation’s most fervent car fans and looking at the data, it’s clear that Britain has unexpectedly become China’s best shot at putting a foothold in a G7 nation.
The purpose of going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year was to look at some great cars and watch some of my heroes climb the hill through the beautiful pastoral English countryside that makes up the Duke of Richmond’s estate.
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I expected a few Chinese automakers would be there and knew that MG, now owned by Shanghai’s SAIC Motor, would be the featured marque. What I didn’t expect was that Goodwood would end up being a coming out for Chinese brands, which no longer have to hide behind their beard brands–domestic brands quietly owned by foreign companies.
While it caught me by surprise, the more I thought about it the more it made sense to me. A combination of Brexit, China’s global ambitions, and good timing have made it possible for Chinese cars to find a potential home in Britain.
The last and most important factor is a seeming lack of antipathy towards Chinese cars from actual British people.
BYD Threw A Party And Everyone Showed Up
If you’ve never been to the Goodwood Hill Climb you may not be aware of how much of a new car show it’s become. The death of the Geneva Motor Show and the general diminishment of the auto show in Europe have sent automakers scurrying to find somewhere to show off their cars.
And while there are still a number of vintage F1 cars and the like on display in the paddock, more than half of the grounds are taken up by new cars. On one side of the hill you’ve got every supercar maker you can think of trying to attract attention to some impossibly expensive carbon fiber masterpiece. On the other side you’ll find a bunch of mainstream manufacturers like Honda, Ford, and BMW.
BMW showed off the new M5 to a crowd of BMW faithful, Ford took the cover off the new Capri, and Audi showed a never-built pre-war three-seater. The biggest crowd of the weekend for a new car was probably for the Red Bull RB17 hypercar.
The second biggest crowd? The BYD stand about every hour when someone turned on the already revealed Yangwang U9 electric sports car.
An electric car that can do tank turns and hop around is fairly novel and a great way to entice passersby to come into the stand. While not exactly a concept car, the U9 was a huge draw even when it wasn’t dancing for the crowd.
In fact, the whole BYD stand was full of people every time I walked by it, with potential customers checking out the various real vehicles on display. On one end were the Yangwang luxury cars and the Denza van. On the other side with the BYD Atto 3, BYD Seal plug-in hybrid, and the cute BYD Dolphin.
The nearby Honda stand had a few cars on display as well and did attract some attention, but only about half of the number of people were around Hondas as were around the BYDs when I checked.
Why? A good contrast is the BYD Atto 3 pictured above, which looks nearly identical the the Honda e:NY1, even though the Honda has a slightly worse range and costs about 10-15% more. The kicker, of course, is that both the e:NY1 and Atto 3 are Chinese-made cars.
I eavesdropped on a few conversations with British consumers checking out the various models and no one seemed to care or even mention the fact that they were Chinese-built/Chinese-owned cars. People were mostly curious about the cost and excited about the features.
This doesn’t mean there weren’t gimmicks at the BYD stand to attract attention. In addition to the bouncing Yangwang, BYD brought along a happy little robot to greet people. Perhaps more important on the verge of the UEFA European Championship (aka the Eurocup), which featured England v. France, were all the mentions of soccer. You could play a little soccer mini-game (I got schooled by a 10-year-old) [Editor’s note: I saw it happen. A 10 year-old kid ran circles around Matt. It was hilarious. -DT], try your hand at foosball, and otherwise revel in the success of England’s team. BYD was, of course, a sponsor.
From Beard Brands To Chinese Brands
MG was also the featured marque of the Festival of Speed, meaning the company got to spend a huge amount of money to build the “central feature” statue at the entrance to the Duke’s house. Showing off 100 years of the brand, the installation featured a classic MGB on one end and a new electric Cybster at the other.
The MG brand is one of Britain’s most important carmakers and also one of the most cursed. For decades, MG was known as a maker of fun and sporty little roadsters. While most of the cars were great, the company was seemingly always in trouble.
This all goes back to the late 1960s when a sluggish British economy led the government to combine as many automakers as possible into a larger company called British Leyland. This didn’t work out well for MG as the brand got little attention in spite of being one of the few bright spots for its parent company.
After various reorganizations of the company, including brief ownership by BMW, a group of Brits lobbied Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile Group to buy the brand out of bankruptcy in order to build rebodied Smart Roadsters. This didn’t work as Daimler wouldn’t give over the rights. Nanjing did end up buying both MG and Rover anyway before Nanjing itself was sold to larger Chinese automaker SAIC Motor.
That’s not a big deal. Almost every British brand was sold to someone else during the ’90s and ’00s with Jaguar/Land Rover getting sold to an Indian company (Tata), Mini/Rolls Royce (BMW) and Bentley (VW) going to German brands, and Chinese automakers picking up what was left (Geely/Lotus).
This is how we’ve ended up with the modern MG Motor, a wholly-owned Chinese company that uses the MG brand to market its range of cheaper gas and electric cars all over the world.
While MG was originally a ‘beard brand’ seemingly using the famous British marque as a cover for its Chinese roots, most consumers now seem to be aware that someone else owns MG and don’t seem to care, as you can see in the interview below:
While checking out the Cybster I directly asked an enthusiast (and Autopian reader) what he thought about the car and if he cared it was Chinese. “Not particularly, yeah, not worried about” was his response. What did he care about? Price.
SAIC’s use of MG as a ‘beard brand’ was clever and seems to be paying dividends, but most cars on display were not beard brands. Other than Lotus/Volvo/Polestar, which are all Geely brands, most of the new Chinese carmakers that showed up just used their Chinese branding. Here are all the carmakers from China with at least one car on display under a Chinese brand that I saw:
- GWM Ora
- BYD
- Denza
- Yangwang
- Omoda
- Jaecoo
- Hongqi
I may have missed one or two as the show was huge and they were everywhere.
The Numbers Show Chinese Automakers Are Growing
MG is one of the fastest-growing brands in the UK this year, outpacing most of the market since the pandemic. Through the first six months of this year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that MG has sold 44,046 cars, up 11% year-over-year in a market that’s only grown by 6% so far in 2024.
Its total sales put it ahead of classic British brands like Mini and Land Rover, as well as European brands like Peugeot and Seat. MG is even beating Honda.
The brand that’s really interesting to me is Mazda. So far, Mazda only sold 14,083 cars this year. At those volumes, can Mazda even continue to survive in the country?
MG isn’t alone. Chinese carmakers BYD and GWM Ora are selling a lot more cars in the country. Curiously, the British beard brand Polestar is one of the worst-performing brands in the UK with a 60% year-over-year sales slide.
Not all beard brands are performing poorly. Smart is now a joint venture between Geely and Daimler, only selling the Chinese-built Smart #1 and Smart #2. Sales of these new Smart cars are up almost 500% this year.
How Brexit Made This All Easier
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As mentioned at the top of this piece, I don’t think Chinese cars were particularly on the minds of Brexit supporters. In fact, the promise of Brexit was a renewed Britain that would reestablish itself as a global economic powerhouse. It hasn’t worked out that way so far, with the country trying to avoid a food crisis of its own making.
Car manufacturing in the United Kingdom has dropped 3.2% year-over-year to just 353,843 cars through May. As recently as 2018, the UK was still making more than 1.5 million cars a year. They’ll be lucky to make half that this year.
While it’s possible that it’s just too soon and numerous new car factories will open up in the United Kingdom, what seems more likely is that the UK will continue to give up its dream of being an exporter of mass-production non-luxury cars and be an increasingly ripe target for Chinese brands.
Brexit has inadvertently made this a lot easier. How? Well, many European countries have automakers and local car production (Germany, Italy, France, Slovakia). The threat of cheap Chinese cars destroying a partially state-owned automaker like Renault or Volkswagen is likely behind Europe’s sudden increase in tariffs against Chinese automakers.
In addition to the 10% tariff that already exists on imported cars, Chinese automakers will get a wide range of tariffs in Europe depending on various factors. BYD will get a 17.4% additional tariff, Geely will get 20%, and SAIC will get the biggest at over 38%.
Britain, for the moment, is fine with the 10% tariff that exists and it’s not clear that the new government will take any action. Because the UK is no longer a part of the EU it doesn’t have to abide by the EU tariffs.
Where Is This All Going?
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The politics of all of this are fascinating. The new Labour government in the UK wants to phase out combustion-powered cars by 2030, which is going to be much easier with Chinese cars. Even if the UK puts a small tariff on Chinese-built EVs there’s a lot less of a domestic car industry to be worried about ruining and the environmental upside might be worth it for the country’s new leaders.
Ultimately, this might be to the detriment of UK manufacturing. With the increase in tariffs, there’s been a push from Chinese automakers to build in Europe, with a BYD plant coming to Hungary. It’s not clear yet if Chinese automakers will try to bring production back to Britain or how that would make any economic sense.
Chinese brands and automakers have a long way to go to get full acceptance in the UK, but the success of MG and the rise of BYD show what’s possible. China has overbuilt its EV car industry and desperately needs to export cars. While Chinese companies have had success in India, Latin America, and other markets, they really want access to more prosperous nations.
With America off the table for now and Europe looking a little dicey, the United Kingdom is a prime target for Chinese brands. As the Goodwood Festival of Speed showed, Chinese automakers are taking their shot and, unlike England’s soccer team, they might score a few goals.
I poked into a BYD store while in singapore a while back and sat in a couple of CUV shaped EV things. They seemed like they would be appealing to The kind of buyer who would have wanted an XB/Juke/Cube/element/Nitro/Soul/Rouge kind of object. Aiming a little young or funky compared to mainstream entry level stuff. Like they were chasing a market that has kind of been abandoned (at least in the US). With the right pricing and marketing I could see where they could establish a pretty solid foothold
“While most of the cars were great, the company was seemingly always in trouble”
This doesn’t exactly narrow down the field of British car manufacturers! Lotus, Jaguar, TVR, Aston Martin… (And I say this as a Brit and a Lotus owner)
I just can’t get past these names. They likely make quality cars but it’s really difficult to disassociate them from all the crap I’ve seen on Amazon and Temu that I don’t trust.
This is a very Chinese approach. A bit splashy, expensive show of force at Goodwood and sponsoring the Euros. But when it comes to putting in the hard yards (and serious expense) so far the Chinese OEMs have been found a bit lacking. Dealers, aftermarket support, public relations etc. one of the big issues for EVs in the UK is that two out of five households have no off street parking (so can’t charge on domestic rates overnight).
What’s the average daily/weekly mileage for a UK household? I ask in earnest because here in Canada, no charging on street parking is often a non-starter since we’re often driving relatively long commutes.
Mind you, if you can a week out of a charge and juice up during a supply run, then it’d likely be less of an issue.
I’d say 250-300 miles realistically. There will be outliers but average annual mileage is c.10-12k p/a
Wow, that’s pretty much what I average (~20,000km p/a). I find that surprising, I thought everything was closer and thus less driving in the UK.
Just googled it – apparently the national average is 7.4k miles but I had a recent conversation with friends and family at a recent gathering and it seemed to be closer to 800-1000 miles a month in this part of the country (NE England). I guess in urban areas with decent public transport (London and Manchester) it’s probably way less.
Canada’s national average sits at 9.4k miles. So, more, but not a wild discrepancy.
Oddly enough, Portugal seems to have solved this issue. Folks without off-street parking can engage their city to help them install an outlet on the street to charge from.
Our local council suggested that we utilise something like this, but that assumes you can park outside your own house.
The other major problem is that getting parts and service for these Chinese brands can be a major issue. The internet is full of stories from Australia, the UK and elsewhere with people having a minor fender bender or a mechanical problem only to get stuck with a car that nobody can get parts for.
The pricing on recent MGs with almost any kind of damage is crazy cheap. Probably cheap enough that someone could be persuaded to live with an imperfectly repaired panel or trim piece.
Tempting if the brand doesn’t put you off.
The MG EV SUV thingy can be had very cheap with the earth fault in the battery pack. A weekend with thick rubber gloves and a tube of sealant seems to be all that’s required to them get moving again.
That’s just as much a problem for cars from anywhere outside Europe. Teslas are particularly hard to get fixed in a reasonable time.
Brits are probably more open to Chinese EVs for several reasons beyond Brexit:
Most Brits know they are not citizens of a Superpower which is “in competition” with China.
Most Brits know they will never be an Earl or a Duchess – Value is important to them, as credit isn’t as freely given as it is in the US.
Most Brits aren’t fearful of their mundane daily activities being surveilled – because their own government already watches what they do so they can have a safer society.
Brits know that they don’t have a domestic industry to “protect” – as they have already lived through the days of crapastic domestic products by an industry that wasn’t worth saving.
Most Brits aren’t afraid of “Socialism” – because they know the benefit of living in a society which largely works towards the betterment of it’s common citizens.
Brits know the real cost of oil because their government does not subsidize it to the degree the US, Saudi Arabia or Russia does.
And I’m sure, begrudgingly, they understand their governments self-interest in maintaining a core manufacturing base within the country means that JLR will likely continue to be propped up with government money for years to come.
Not to mention Mini, Honda and Nissan? The government twitches everytime the execs of those company sneeze.
Honda’s already shut down their plant in Swindon, but Nissan is keeping Sutherland going for now. Are there any other assembly plants apart from JLR left? Ford’s not building cars in Dagenham any longer, just engines, IIRC. I know Peugeot used to have a plant that dated back to Rootes-Chrysler-Talbot days, but I don’t know if it’s still running; and I think anything that was once Vauxhall has been switched to buses or HGVs or something.
Still, they do kind of owe the Chinese, given that the last time they solved a trade deficit with them was when they forced China to buy opium from poppies grown in India. (The US did it too, but used raw materials from Turkey and didn’t have the thirst for tea on top of the desire for silks, pottery and rugs.)
Peugeot shut Ryton in 2006.
Toyota still builds the Corolla hatchback and estate, and the badge-engineered Suzuki Swace, in Derbyshire (and engines in Deeside). Stellantis have two ex-Vauxhall plants now building vans, at Ellesmere Port and at Luton. Ford still builds diesel engines in Dagenham, but given the decline of diesel after Dieselgate, and the push for electrification, these are now only powering various sizes of Transit van lines assembled in Romania and Turkey, so its future looks bleak.
Ford Dagenham is still an engineering centre. Though it too is likely to dwindle as the diesel engine manufacturing dials down.
Lotus has the new Emira line in Hethel. Paid for by Geely, but still.
JLR isn’t propped up with government money, They are (mostly) profitable, although they did receive a grant for direct investment into EVs two years ago.
I can’t decide if these “Most Brits know” lines are genuine beliefs of a non-Brit or on the money satire by an actual Brit.
There’s a certain amount of wishful thinking but in essence a lot of people in the UK are so economically threatened, physically and psychologically, that the most and almost exclusive importance is the price.
Go Brexit!
Squeezed until the pips squeak, eh?
Non Brit here – but vetted by my Kiwi Husband who lived in London and Manchester for 20+ years.
Ah Brexit.
I wonder how long it’s going to be until it stops finding new ways to fuck us. My fiancée works at an interior design place that used to send bespoke furniture all over Europe, but since Brexit it’s not enough that they use approved fire retardant materials, the EU wants to see the finished sofas tested. So that means for every single bespoke sofa they have to make one and burn another one. That doubles your costs, so they just get everything made in the EU now. So much for not having to stick to EU regulations.
As for the football (and seriously, how did you pick that same name for your game of carrying-the-ball-in-your-hands-ball?) we have a long and proud tradition of being a bit shit at it. Second place was uncomfortably close for us, we’re genuinely happier when we fail to qualify and can angrily sack the manager.
Anyway, cars. Given the choice between two identical cheap EV SUVs I’d rather have the one that isn’t pretending it’s anything to do with old sportscars. Tainted heritage isn’t a feature.
Fun fact: “We” didn’t. The first game of “Gridiron Football” was played in 1880 in a match between Harvard and Yale, using a rule set that was mostly adapted from “Rugby Football.” The Brits, however, only invented the term “Soccer” as the slang term for “Association Football” between 1889 and 1891, so by the time that came across the pond, Gridiron Football had already been a collegiate sport for around a decade, and so “Soccer” was technically the newer word.
So it should be American Rugby? That explains the shape of the ball.
To paraphrase an old La Choy ad: MG makes Chinese cars, swing Britannica.
Down here in Australia the Chinese brands are also pushing hard, and I see more and more MGs and BYDs every day. I had the chance to drive the MG 3 and ZS during a holiday a couple of years ago. They were… fine. Basic, cheap cars like you don’t really get from the other marques these days, and that’s the niche they’re targeting – and doing well in. BYD seem to be doing a similar thing in the electric car space. I feel it’s the fault of the mainstream brands all pushing upmarket and leaving space for MG to break through, especially as the quality of their product improves.
Would I buy one? No. Partly for geopolitical reasons and partly because I still think they’re not quite there yet in terms of driving engagement and ergonomics and their long-term build-quality is still a bit of a question mark. But a lot of people here don’t seem to be particularly worried by these things.
From what I understand, the Australian government was massively protectionist of the domestic car industry… until there wasn’t an Australian car industry left to protect. Now it appears to be a free-for-all, and anyone can import whatever they want, if it meets ADR regulations. It appears the Great Britian is following in the footsteps of Australia.
Yeah pretty much. I’m not sure how strong the protections were but I know Aussie-built cars were amazing value-for-money back in the day, especially the Commodore and Falcon, which were really the only game in town if you wanted a RWD sedan under 40 grand, and the V8 versions could be had for under 50.
One upside of the current market is the price of self-importing has come way down – and the number of models eligible for import has expanded. I’m currently in the process of importing a 2013 Toyota Crown Athlete – which in a way is a bit like a Japanese Commodore I suppose.
It’s the other way around. Britain hasn’t had a domestic car industry since the 90’s*, Australia followed us.
*Morgan and McLaren are basically all that’s left
Brexit doesn’t tell the whole story. For example, Honda shut their factory due to the EU-Japan trade agreement, which was in force before Brexit:
https://news.sky.com/story/japan-eu-trade-deal-likely-the-biggest-factor-in-honda-move-11641288
and you can see that was replicated across Europe:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/658991/japan-overseas-automobile-production-europe/
IMO the big problem the UK has is the lack of any major battery factories. As the market moves towards electrified vehicles that’s really starting to hurt, and the previous government dilly-dallied far too much about handing out the massive subsidies required – which is classic British short-termism.
As to why the British aren’t especially bothered about Chinese cars, look at the motor industry we do have. The largest wholly British car manufacturer is Morgan if I remember rightly. It’s not like Germany, France or the US where there’s a desire to protect the indigenous industry.
There was a company called BritishVolt, it was a hot mess https://www.wired.com/story/the-collapse-of-britishvolt/
Aren’t McLaren UK owned?
McLaren are owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund.
https://news.sky.com/story/bahrain-state-fund-takes-full-ownership-of-supercar-maker-mclaren-13099706
Morgan are owned by an Italian investment firm now. Caterham are owned by a Japanese one. Which probably leaves us with Ginetta & Radical as about the only British owned car marques with any sort of meaningful output now.