For those who don’t want to visit Reddit:

I’ve noticed that quite a lot people in this community are very interested in China’s EVs.

As a Chinese, I’d like to share the origins and reputations of Chinese car brands to help everyone understand and make choices.

BYD 比亚迪

Pronunciation: Bi Ya Di

Meaning: It has no specific meaning. According to the founder of BYD, many two-character names were prepared for the trademark registration, but they were all taken. So, they had to randomly choose a three-character name. Therefore, BYD is a random combination of three Chinese characters without any specific meaning. However, as the company grew, they had to assign some meaning to the name for promotional purposes, so they extended the acronym BYD to the slogan “Build Your Dream.”

Reputation: BYD is seen as China’s Toyota, but its reputation in China is very polarized, similar to Huawei. The reasons for liking BYD are mainly its strong technology and the ability to produce almost all parts, with strong cost control. However, those who dislike it feel that BYD cars are of average quality, have many minor issues, and their marketing methods are off-putting.

Geely 吉利

Pronunciation: Ji Li

Meaning: It means “lucky.” When Chinese people wish each other well, they say “Da Ji Da Li,” which means a lot of luck.

Reputation: Geely is seen as China’s Volkswagen, with many sub-brands (Zeekr, Lynk&Co, Volvo, Polestar, Lotus) and a good reputation. Its product line covers from low to high-end, and it excels in chassis tuning and handling. Its Lynk&Co brand participates in many professional racing competitions, which is highly recognized.

Lynk&Co 领克

Pronunciation: Ling Ke

Meaning: “leading” and “overcoming.”

Reputation: Excellent, especially in the sports car field. This brand is almost equivalent to China’s GTI or N series, and it also has a strong sense of luxury.

Zeekr 极氪

Pronunciation: Ji Ke

Meaning: It’s derived from the homophone of “geek,” with the second Chinese character changed to “氪” (ke), which means “recharge” and is also the Chinese name for the trace element Kr.

Reputation: Excellent. Although it’s priced higher and belongs to the mid-to-high-end product line, this sub-brand has achieved near-perfection in almost all dimensions (except for auto driving), so it’s highly accepted by Chinese consumers. However, as a new brand, its sales are not as high as mainstream brands.

In fact, Zeekr is essentially Lynk&Co; the original name of Zeekr 001 was Lynk&Co X, later renamed to Lynk&Co 001, and eventually became independent due to control disputes between Geely and Volvo.

Chery 奇瑞

Pronunciation: Qi Rui

Meaning: “rare” and “prosperous.”

Reputation: Chery’s image in China is somewhat like a “engineering guy.” People think Chery’s technology was good during the era of fuel vehicles, but the cars were average. However, half of Chery’s sales come from overseas (mainly Central Asia and Latin America), so it’s not very visible in the mainstream market.

GWM 长城

Pronunciation: Chang Cheng

Meaning: The Great Wall, yes, the famous landmark.

Reputation: It has a very good reputation in the SUV and off-road fields, with the Tank and HAVAL series being very popular. However, it’s not so good in other areas, especially the sub-brand Ora, which is very female-oriented, and many of its marketing methods are also very feminine, completely opposite to its main consumer group, causing some dissatisfaction.

Changan 长安

Pronunciation: Chang An

Meaning: The names of the ancient Chinese capitals during the Tang and Han dynasties, which is now Xi’an.

Reputation: Changan focuses on cost-effectiveness and doesn’t have any distinct product features or technological accumulation.

Hongqi 红旗

Pronunciation: Hong Qi

Meaning: Red Flag.

Reputation: Hongqi has a special status in China because it’s the first domestic brand manufactured in China. During major events, Red Flag sedans are used. However, the reputation of Hongqi’s civilian cars is average, mainly due to a lack of technological accumulation, with engines and transmissions sourced from Volkswagen, and many minor issues.

NIO 蔚来

Pronunciation: Wei Lai

Meaning: Future.

Reputation: It’s very polarized. NIO focuses on high-end models and battery swapping, but it’s poor in cost control, so many Chinese people think this brand won’t last long. However, many others really like it, appreciating its aesthetics and pursuit, as well as its excellent service.

XPeng 小鹏

Pronunciation: Xiao Peng

Meaning: “little bird,” but it’s actually derived from the founder’s name.

Reputation: Overall, it’s good. XPeng is seen as China’s Tesla, with strong intelligent driving capabilities. However, it’s not aesthetically pleasing (only the P7 design has been recognized by the market), and although it has strong product competence, its market positioning is always problematic, leading to average sales. Moreover, Chinese people really dislike this name, feeling it’s too childish and not like a car brand’s name (in contrast, many people think NIO’s name is excellent).

LeapMotor 零跑

Pronunciation: Ling Pao

Meaning: Zero Run.

Reputation: It’s similar to Xiaomi in the smartphone field, focusing on cost-effectiveness, so many people with limited budgets will buy it, but the product strength is average.

AVATR 阿维塔

Pronunciation: A Wei Ta

Meaning: A derivative of Avatar.

Reputation: This brand is a joint venture between Changan, Huawei, and CATL, with very strong technological capabilities. However, the car’s design and positioning are too unconventional, so the mainstream consumer group is not interested.

In addition, you might have heard of BAIC, SAIC, and GAIC, which are BAIC Motor, SAIC Motor, and GAC Motor.

All three are local state-owned car companies. The only one that overseas consumers might come across is SAIC’s MG brand.

However, MG’s reputation in China is not good, mainly due to many minor issues and lack of price competitiveness.

Moreover, Chinese people do not consider acquired foreign brands as their own, such as Volvo, Polestar, MG, Lotus, SAAB, Proton. So, when discussing the overseas sales of Chinese brands, these are often not considered.

Finally, it’s not hard to see that Chinese people value quality (how many minor issues there are) very much and dislike brands with too much marketing, which can cause dislike. This is not only the case with car purchases but also in other fields. In the smartphone field, Huawei and Xiaomi, which heavily rely on marketing, have very polarized reputations in China.

One more thing, Chinese people’s preference for foreign brands is as follows:

German + Tesla >>>> Japan > America > Korea