Auto Shanghai 2015: Most impressive Chinese carmakers (Summary)
Let’s play guess the logo.
After going through 35 different Chinese carmakers (backwards) in my ‘most impressive’ ranking, our heads are all spinning and there’s nothing better than a good old table to make them stop and summarise everything. You’re welcome. (Click on the brand to see the full article)
Auto Shanghai 2015: The most impressive Chinese carmakers:
| Pos | Brand | Claim to fame | + | – |
| 1 | Haval | Great Wall’s SUV brand | Multilayered stand, overall quality, responsiveness | Confusing new red/blue logo strategy, cloned designs |
| 2 | Geely | Owner of Volvo | Extremely impressive new GC9 flagship | Defunct brand logos still on models exhibited |
| 3 | BYD | Warren Buffett bought shares | New launches spot on trend, very clear strategy | Only starting to revive, needs confirmation |
| 4 | Hongqi | Supplier of China’s President | Sophisticated stand, splendid new LS5 SUV | Untapped brand potential, needs to emancipate itself |
| 5 | Leopaard | Originated as a China Army supplier | Authenticity, overall quality of new CS10 SUV | Limited lineup |
| 6 | Qoros | Joint venture between Chery & Israel | European stand, against the grain 2 PHEV concept | Lacks credibility due to limited sales |
| 7 | ChangAn | Ford’s joint-venture partner in China | Very dynamic and savvy commercial stand (Chana) | Apart from CS75 SUV, lagging interior quality |
| 8 | Soueast | Mitsubishi’s partner in China | Impressive interior quality for the DX7 & V Cross | Needs to cut the Mitsubishi umbilical cord for good |
| 9 | Baojun | SAIC-GM’s low cost brand | Clears its stand to introduce the new 560 SUV | Limited presence at the Show |
| 10 | Foton | Tunland Pickup exported overseas | Very consistent ‘loud’ positioning | Low level of refinement |
| 11 | Dongfeng | Owns 15% of PSA Peugeot-Citroen | Consistent across a multitude of stands | Austere and average interiors |
| 12 | GAC | Featured in Transformers 4 | Very modern and impressive GA8 flagship | Unclear brand strategy |
| 13 | Maxus | “Hot seller in Australia” | Fast growing brand, savvy sales person | Overselling “success” in Australia |
| 14 | Roewe | Rover reborn as a Chinese brand | Impressive flagship 950 | Dangerously becoming pompous, lacks spark |
| 15 | Lifan | Produces a Mini clone | Gets that its survival resides in SUVs. Launched two. | Low quality interiors |
| 16 | JMC | Produces Ford SUVs in China | Outrageous concept cars | Outrageous concept cars |
| 17 | Zotye | My heart vote at Beijing 2014 | 5 all-new models exhibited | Cold. Grown too fast? |
| 18 | Huasong | The only all-new brand at the Show | Polished and understated stand | Disappointing interior. Real need for a new brand? |
| 19 | JAC | Largest Chinese brand launch in Brazil | Timely S2 mini SUV launch, some funky interiors | Too many logos, bland exteriors |
| 20 | Chery | QQ clone of the Chevrolet Matiz | Hungry attitude, suprisingly good interiors | Bland designs |
| 21 | Kawei | Sells a Ford F-150 clone | Enthusiastic and spontaneous | Sells a Ford F-150 clone |
| 22 | MG | Yes, it’s that MG | Finally getting an SUV with the GS | Chinese-English blended flair getting lost |
| 23 | Venucia | Nissan’s Chinese low-cost brand | No real new model, Vow concept far off reality | Still lacking substance and a story |
| 24 | Jinbei | Produces a rebadged Toyota Hiace | Single minded positioning, decent lineup exhibited | Unexciting |
| 25 | Brilliance | BMW’s partner in China | New V3 small SUV | Plastic, harsh and hollow interiors |
| 26 | Haima | Originally Mazda’s partner in China | Trying to become more sporty | No dynamism, no new SUV |
| 27 | Joylong | More famous for buses | Going all out with a premium MPV | Very limited lineup |
| 28 | Landwind | Sells a Range Rover Evoque clone | Smart cloning of Evoque? Decent interior quality | Clones foreign manufacturers, very lazy fittings |
| 29 | Higer | Sounds like a refrigerator brand | A surprisingly large commercial stand | Over-priced, dated products |
| 30 | Howo | Helps build China’s infrastructure | Clear efforts to make the brand appealing | Definitely a commercial vehicle feel |
| 31 | Hawtai | Sells rebadged Hyundai SUVs | Larger stand makes the brand appear bigger | Extremely flimsy materials – feels like breaking |
| 32 | FAW | FAW-Daihatsu sedan used to be #1 | Some slight design improvements in passenger cars | Poor quality interiors across the entire lineup |
| 33 | BAIC | Owns Saab technology | BJ20 Jeep looking funky | Plain experiors, cheap interiors, confused branding |
| 34 | Changhe | Suzuki’s partner in China | n/a | Over-priced, bottom of the ladder product |
| 35 | Denza | Joint venture between BYD & Daimler | n/a | Expensive, bland product, sleep-inducing press conf |
| – | Wuling | Best-selling domestic brand in China | n/a | Absent at the Show |
| – | Lianhua | Chinese Lotus | n/a | Absent at the Show |
| – | ZX Auto | Pickups used by Libyan rebels | n/a | Absent at the Show |
Next year we will return to Beijing for a new ranking…
Brilliance will need more than the V3 SUV to go up my ranking in 2016…
This Post Has 3 Comments
@Matt Gasnier
Well, the chinese market is very interesting because of a lot of changes. Chinese brands are coming and it will be interesting, whether the import-automakers well be able to give answers. Volkswagen is still the biggest brand, but at the moment it looks like they do not have affordable SUV’s to compete with Haval or Baojun 560.
Matt, your artticles about the chinese market are excellent and often three months ahead of what other websites write. Thanks a lot.
Thank you very much for your praise Steam – glad you like them! There are many more coming shortly…
All the best,
Matt