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The global boss of one of China's largest car companies has outlined why it – like many other auto giants – has chosen Australia as a key market for selling its vehicles.
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Australia's "friendly" attitude towards Chinese cars – combined with stringent safety and, relative to other countries, emissions rules – is said to make us an important place to operate for auto brands from the world's largest vehicle market.
That's according to the global chairman of GWM, Jack Wei, in an interview with Australian and New Zealand media at the Shanghai motor show last week.
GWM – formerly branded as Great Wall Motors – was the first Chinese car maker to open its doors in Australia nearly 16 years ago, and has been followed by the likes of LDV, BYD and Chery.
Cars from China now account for one in six new vehicles sold, and even more brands have arrived over the past 12 months, from Deepal and Leapmotor to Foton and JAC.
Three Chinese car brands finished in the Top 10 sellers in Australia last month – BYD in seventh, GWM in eighth, and MG in 10th.
A mix of characteristics make Australia "one of our [GWM's] key overseas markets," according to the global executive.
"Australia has comparably higher standards on not only the homologation, but also the CO2 emission standard," Wei told media through a translator.
"And from the organisation side, we have a specific right-hand-drive region, and this not only covers Australia, but also covers the other right-hand-drive countries like [the] UK, the ASEAN [South-East Asian] countries, as well as South Africa.
"Australia we believe is very friendly to Chinese products. First of all ... between Australia and China, we have the free trade protocol, which enables us to [have] zero import duty.
"And if our products can be well accepted in Australia, it plays a very good example to the other right-hand-drive countries including the ASEAN countries, South Africa, [etc]."
Not mentioned by Wei – but known to be a factor in why Chinese car brands choose Australia – is the nature and structure of our car market.
Australians buy a wide range of cars relative to other markets, such as small hatchbacks and SUVs popular in Europe, diesel utes common in Asia, and large off-road pick-ups and SUVs liked by the US.
Also contributing are relatively high salaries, a diverse population, and emissions standards and ANCAP crash-testing protocols which, if aced by a new Chinese brand, would allow them to sell their cars in the likes of Europe and the US.
"Our business in Australia and New Zealand started from the ute, and now we have the SUV with different kinds of powertrains – EV [electric], PHEV [plug-in hybrid], hybrid," Wei told media.
"We really would like to develop Australia and New Zealand for the long term, and set a good foundation for the long term."
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
