Chinese EV manufacturers expand presence at Stockholm's eCarExpo

The eCarExpo 2024 opened in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday, with a strong presence of Chinese electric cars.

Some 16,000 people visited the expo last year, and organizers expect more for this year's show, which will end on Sunday. 

The eCarExpo has expanded to the Swedish city of Gothenburg, the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Estonian capital of Tallinn. It will debut in Norway's capital, Oslo, this year and in Finland's capital, Helsinki, next year. 

MG Cyberster, a sporty roadster manufactured by Shanghai-based SAIC, had its Swedish premiere there and was a crowd-pleaser, with many visitors admiring its "scissor" doors.

The brand has grown steadily in the Swedish market since the first model was launched there in 2021, MG Sweden's PR manager Emma Harnstrom told Xinhua.

"It was only days ago that we sold our 20,000th car in Sweden," Harnstrom said.

Xpeng, Zeekr and GWM, previously known as Ora in Europe, were also among the brands present.

"We have now sold close to 1,000 cars in Sweden since we entered the market in November 2022," Martin Jonsson, a service manager at GWM Sweden, told Xinhua.

Younger generation appeal

The fact that most Swedes had only just recently heard of GWM does not mean buyers are skeptical.

That is partly because the brand offers a five-year unlimited mileage guarantee, and the battery pack has an eight-year or 160,000-kilometer guarantee.

"Ninety-five percent (of the cars) are also on a leasing contract, so customers have no reason to worry," Jonsson said, adding that the younger generation is more keen on trying new brands.

One of the visitors at eCarExpo told Xinhua that it's true, judging by the purchase patterns of his sons, aged 19 and 21.

"I believe they are more willing to try new brands and technologies; just look at what happened when South Korean Samsung and Chinese Huawei launched their phones – they became a hit among the younger consumers," Christer Blomquist told Xinhua.

Mattias Bergman, CEO of Mobility Sweden, a trade association whose members account for around 97 percent of all sales of cars, trucks and buses in Sweden, confirms this evaluation.

"Back in the day, when people bought cars with combustion engines, buyers were very loyal to 'their' brand. The same loyalty does not exist in the same way in the younger generation, and young people embrace what's new," Bergman said.

"The automotive industry is global, and what becomes successful in China will eventually come to Sweden. Today, there are around a dozen Chinese brands," he said.

BYD ahead of the pack

Time will tell whether one of the Chinese models on show will become as successful as BYD's ATTO 3, which became the second-most registered model across all categories in Sweden in July last year, with 721 registrations, according to Hedin Mobility Group, a reseller of BYD vehicles.

It was also the most registered battery electric vehicle (BEV) model, as one in nine BEVs sold in Sweden was an ATTO 3 in the same month last year.

The chase to catch up with BYD is on, especially since the Shenzhen-based carmaker recently said it would step up its game despite increasing exports.

To further advance its European sales, BYD said in December that it will become the first Chinese carmaker to build a manufacturing and production center in Europe.

The factory, which will be in Hungary, will have an advanced production line and "is expected to create thousands of local jobs, boost the local economy and support local supply chains," BYD said in a press release.

(With input from Xinhua)