It Appears Chevrolet Will Stop Selling Cars In China — Can’t Compete

The Chinese auto market is innovating and evolving super fast. You have to be involved in hyper-innovation in the EV sector specifically if you want to see increasing sales. And if you are not doing much in the EV sector, well, good luck and most likely RIP.

More than 50% of new auto sales in China are now plugin vehicle sales. The transition to EVs is rapid. BYD, the EV market leader, has soared and is now the 3rd best selling auto brand in the world. A few other EV brands have done very well. Legacy auto brands that thought they could slow-walk the transition to electric vehicles, though, are suffering. Today’s example is Chevrolet.

Chevrolet sold 640,000+ cars in China in 2018. Five years later, in 2023, the company sold 168,588 cars in the country. If that wasn’t bad enough … in 2024, Chevrolet sold just 52,774 new cars in China, a 68.7% drop year over year.  Across the first four months of the year, sales are down 75.9% compared to the same period last year.

Frankly, these drops are too extreme to think that everything’s going to be alright. It appears that Chevrolet can’t deal with the  fast changing market in China.

Reportedly, Chevrolet is now planning to leave China. SAIC-GM General Manager Lu Xiao has stated that’s not true, that “rumours that the Chevrolet brand will withdraw from China are fake news,” and promised that “we will not give up Chevrolet.” However, an insider has followed up by telling 36kr that “they will not give up on Chevrolet’s existing users” (“不会放弃雪佛兰的现有用户” in Chinese),” implying that they still will stop sales of new Chevrolet cars and SUVs in Europe.

Aside from just being slow to electrify in a compelling way in the EV market, it’s also notable that Chinese consumers are showing more and more preference for Chinese brands. Whereas it used to be seen as much more luxurious to use Western companies for clothes, the kitchen, cars, etc., the hottest, most exciting, highest-tech new cars is coming out in China. Legacy auto brands are probably going to drop out of the Chinese market one by one over the next year or so.