Belgian lease car users see Chinese market share grow

78% of the Belgian users who drive a company car via the leasing company ALD Automotive/Leaseplan are convinced that the Chinese car manufacturers will have a growing share of the Belgian car market in the future.

GfK surveyed 2,211 lease car users at the request of car leaser ALD Automotive/Leaseplan. The respondents were questioned about their driving habits, drive preferences, the image of the country of origin of their lease cars, and their readiness to pay for a Chinese car product.

Doubling every year?

Where some 4,000 Chinese cars were registered in Belgium in 2022, this number grew to 9,804 in 2023, more than doubling the performance of the year before (+145.1%).  Almost every month, there’s a new Chinese brand announcing that it will start selling cars in Europe or, more specifically, in Belgium.

That’s apparently the main reason almost four out of five lease car users are convinced that Chinese manufacturers will have an increasing market share in the next five years. They think this for different reasons.

79% of the respondents believe that Chinese manufacturers are offering electric cars that are more affordable than those of traditional brands. 47% believe that the Chinese carmakers know very well now how they have to adapt themselves to the European market. And 24% are convinced that Chinese cars are also fulfilling all safety criteria like their European competitors.

BYD most popular

It’s no big surprise that the Chinese manufacturer BYD, which sold some 3 million mostly electric cars last year, is the most known or popular Chinese brand. 51% of the respondents know BYD. That’s quite a feat when one knows that they’re still in the 36th position in the sales statistics and that they entered the Belgian market hardly a year ago.

When asked which makes that aren’t of Chinese origin are mostly associated with China, it comes as no surprise that Hyundai (41%) and Kia (40%) are most frequently seen as having a link with the People’s Republic.

Ex aequo in the third spot are Nissan and Volvo. This may come more as a surprise, Nissan being a clear Japanese brand for decades in the Belgian market and Volvo, until now, clearly perceived as a Swedish brand, having a car plant in Ghent. The fact that it has been owned for more than a decade now by a major Chinese car holding has apparently seeped through.

Johan Portier, Country Managing Director at ALD Automotive/LeasePlan: “There may still be prejudices toward Chinese car brands, but a majority of respondents expect them to grow because of their value for money. The lower investment gives fleet managers the opportunity to reach out to a larger group of employees. They can opt for electric cars and optimize the remuneration package at the same time.”