CARMA, the leading technology and consulting company, has released the second part of its ‘Driving Change Series’ study. This study analyses the Automotive industry, hyper-focusing on the incoming Chinese brands in the MENA region and beyond. Findings show that Chinese automotive brands are gaining media confidence globally, with limited outright scepticism.
Through various online articles, media in the Philippines, Malaysia, and the UAE showcased the highest confidence levels in Chinese automotive brands (over 60% confidence in each market).
The analysis found that positive media coverage of Chinese brands aligned with what really matters to consumers regarding purchasing decisions. The first part of this series, which focused on consumer research, found that price, reliability, and technology were key factors for those considering purchasing a new vehicle.
Low levels of criticism and high proportions of positive coverage on pricing, technology and reliability characterised Chinese brands.
In addition, Chinese automotive brands – especially BYD – are increasingly seen as industry innovators. The brand garnered more than double the volume of coverage where brands are positioned as innovative (1,189 articles) compared to other Chinese brands such as Geely (402) and Xpeng (298), as well as established brands including BMW and Volkswagen (284 and 251, respectively).
BYD was also found to have contributed 41% of all positive coverage on Chinese brands and had a higher proportion of positive coverage than other Chinese brands and established brands.
Part 2 of the series, ‘Media Perception, ‘ analyses 12,000 media articles from 1 January 2024 to 31 January 2025. The articles were online articles from automotive specialist outlets, news sources, lifestyle media, and technology outlets in 15 markets. These articles featured over 25 Chinese brands and over 30 established brands.
“The automotive industry experienced significant turbulence over the last 18 months, with headwinds affecting Chinese and established brands. Despite this, our analysis revealed that Chinese automotive brands have gained media confidence around the globe, and that positive sentiment on ‘the rise of Chinese brands’ is a result of BYD’s success, rather than strong industry-wide performance.
BYD leads in share of voice compared to several other Chinese and Established brands and generated 41% of all favourable coverage of Chinese brands,” says Paige Lingwood, Insights Consultant, CARMA.
Technology and innovation were found to be key themes that media outlets covered with their articles – 60% of media coverage highlighted Chinese brands’ use of innovative technology.
Articles also focused on the rapidly evolving automotive industry, highlighting trends such as tariff impacts, technology collaboration, the rise of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), and the role of social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok in influencing car buyers.
Within the MENA region, Chinese brands secured the most articles positioned as innovative in the UAE (75%), which helped elevate the presence and perception of Chinese brands across the wider Middle East region.
UAE media published numerous articles on BYD, highlighting the company’s investment in innovation and technology. Other outlets also praised the inclusion of the Chery Tiggo 8 in the Dubai Police Fleet, noting that the model was explicitly chosen as Dubai Police required vehicles equipped with the latest technology.
In Saudi Arabia, media narratives relating to pricing, reliability, and technology were reported to have high confidence levels. In the first part of this series, these factors were found to be the most important for consumers when purchasing a vehicle, highlighting that Chinese brands have found a winning formula for growth despite the automotive industry’s challenging and competitive landscape.
Part 3 of the Driving Change series will focus on a case study on BYD. Stay tuned as we continue to explore the transformative rise of Chinese automotive brands on the world stage.