The boss of Nissan Australia has claimed some car brands will soon pack up and leave the country because the market is overcrowded.
Japanese, American and South Korean carmakers dominate sales in the country, but a slew of new Chinese brands have already launched or are preparing to do so in the coming years.
“It is not sustainable to have 100 brands on the market within five years,” said Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Nissan Oceania. Car expert.
He pointed to the US and UK markets ‘which have brands of 40 and 42’ available ‘although depending on the data source some say it is 53’, and that these were far fewer sellers despite a much larger population than Australia .
‘We are already at 69 or 70 and there are twelve more to come. They say within the next five years there will be a hundred brands in the country, that’s a very, very complex market.
‘The business case doesn’t fly, simple. It doesn’t work.’
Mr Humberstone said Australians buying new cars, especially from non-established brands, risk being left behind if the business collapses.
He said car parts may no longer be available for specific models and residual resale values could decline if the brand were no longer present in the country.
Nissan Oceania boss Andrew Humberstone said there will likely be 100 car brands in Australia within five years and this is almost double what the US and Britain had
Nissan, Australia’s 12th best-selling car brand, said it had no plans to leave the country
Mr Humberstone said that while new car brands risk leaving the country if they fail to gain a foothold, there is also a possibility that well-known car makers will leave the country.
Last month, French carmaker Citroën announced it would withdraw from Australia after 100 years.
“While we recognize and celebrate Citroen’s rich history in the Australian market, we must look to the future and consider the rapidly evolving, dynamic and competitive nature of the industry and local market, in addition to changing consumer demands.” , said Managing Director David Owen.
Mr Humberstone said Nissan had no plans to leave the country but was concerned about competition from new carmakers for sales.
‘We are a very strong brand. But actually, if you look at where we are, in terms of our market share, it raises a number of questions because we should arguably be in a better position.”
Chinese brand Great Wall Motors (pictured Tank 300 model) has been selling cars in the country since 2009, but will soon be joined by a slew of new Chinese automakers
The XPeng G6 is among a range of electric vehicles set to flood the Australian market
Nissan sold 39,376 vehicles in Australia in 2023, making it the 12th best-selling car brand.
Among the Chinese brands now competing in Australia are Chery, BYD, MG, JAC and Xpeng, with more on the market.
Hussein Dia, a future professor of urban mobility at the University of Swinburne, said the upcoming electric vehicle launches have the potential to change Australia’s car mix.
EVs from little-known Chinese brands will compete with existing models from Tesla and Volvo
“This is what we have been waiting for and waiting for: more variety in electric vehicle models and sizes and also in a range of prices,” he said.
“It will be good for consumers because it means lower prices, more competition and, from what I’ve seen, they’re quality vehicles.”
Prof Dia said some budget options might be budget options but others would be luxury vehicles as many Chinese carmakers had collaborated with European brands to refine their products.
“They have been working on this in China for a long time,” he told AAP.
“They have started joint ventures with international car manufacturers and they are now reaping the benefits.”
The EVs will also be launched around the same time as the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which will set a cap on emissions intended to force a greater supply of electric vehicles than demand, thus driving up prices to press it.
Carmakers that sell too many utes and SUVs face hefty fines that could increase the price of diesel and petrol vehicles by more than $13,000.
That could force more motorists to buy a fully electric car as part of a push by Labor and the Greens to cut carbon emissions by 43 percent by 2030.
The Climate Council wants Australia to go further and ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, including hybrids, as only ‘zero emission’ vehicles would be allowed.
The Electric Vehicle Council estimates Australian motorists will buy more than 100,000 new battery-powered cars by 2024
Chris Mills, CEO of Evie Charging, said growing competition is likely to have a significant impact on drivers, especially those who have made an EV purchase.
“In the next calendar year, until 2025, we will be inundated with a lot of new cars and new models,” he said.
“And I think it’s true when people say that 50 percent of people considering a new car are considering an electric car for their next new car.”
Mr Mills said the company is expanding its public charging points and plans to have 840 charging points operational by Christmas.
The Electric Vehicle Council estimates Australian motorists will buy more than 100,000 new battery-powered cars in 2024, up from 87,000 in 2023, despite the pace of sales growth slowing this year.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which comes into effect in January 2025, aims to reduce average emissions from new cars by 60 percent in just four years
Brandon Wales, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has warned Australia to be wary of Chinese espionage, from the use of Chinese-built cranes to cars.
“It should – and deserves – a higher degree of scrutiny,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
Senator Matt Canavan said China could not be trusted with electric vehicles if Chinese companies like Huawei were banned from installing the 5G mobile network.
“Given that we have banned China from building our 5G network, it seems strange to me that there is not more scrutiny on allowing China to control the vehicles we drive,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘There are at least major risks in a 5G network, just like in a vehicle driving at a hundred kilometers per hour.’
The photo shows Stella Li, president of BYD Americas, with a BYD Dolphin electric vehicle
ELECTRIC CAR BRANDS FOR AUSTRALIA
Zeekr: The Chinese brand, with a name that stands for ‘zero, evolving, electric and krypton’, has promised to bring three electric cars to Australia by the end of 2025. The Zeekr X compact SUV will cost less than $60,000 and is expected in October. .
Geely: The Chinese auto giant could turn heads when it launches its Radar electric car in Australia at the end of this year. The electric Toyota HiLux rival, called the Riddara R6 in other markets, could have a range of up to 571km.
XPeng: Three electric cars from the automaker are expected in Australia over the next three years, with the first model, the G6 SUV, due in October. Prices for the vehicle, which promises to reach 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds, will be announced in September.
Aion: The electric arm of carmaker GAC, or Guangzhou Automobile Group, has committed to launching a battery-powered hatchback in 2025, similar in size to a Toyota Corolla.
Jaecoo: Jaecoo, a luxury spin-off of the Chery brand, is expected to bring a mid-size SUV, the J7, to Australia this year. The vehicle has styling similar to a Range Rover and will be available in two-wheel and four-wheel drive.
Jump Motor: Expect to see two cars from this Chinese brand in Australia by the end of 2024. The mid-sized SUV C10 and the small car T03, also called mini car, will announce their arrival.
Skywell: A competitively priced SUV is expected from this brand in 2024. Known abroad as the Skywell ET5, it will be sold locally as the EVA 5 and promises a range of up to 300 miles (489 km) and a price of less than $50,000.