SHANGHAI – China’s major automakers didn’t start making cars until the late 1990s and early 2000s.
After steadily improving engineering, design, quality, while adding scale, at home, more recently with electrified vehicles, they are targeting two key segments long dominated by Japanese brands: China’s gasoline-electric hybrid market and Southeast Asia’s key car markets.
They are starting to deliver results on both fronts.
Hybrids
The hybrid segment of China’s car market has long been the reserved territory of two major Japanese automakers – Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
But the balance is changing as six major Chinese auto manufacturers – Geely Automobile Holdings, Great Wall Motor Co., GAC Motor Co., Changan Automobile, Chery Automobile Co. and Dongfeng Motor Group – have launched a wave of hybrids since the third quarter of 2021.
GAC has obtained key hybrid technology from Toyota, a joint venture pa…