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Five Ways to Win in China’s Changing Mobility Market
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Five Ways to Win in China’s Changing Mobility Market

Brian Collie, Gang Xu, Thomas Palme, Alexander Wachtmeister and Christoph Meyer
Boston Consulting Group, 2019
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As China embraces new mobility modes, domestic providers are enjoying Beijing’s deep-pocket funding and preferential policies. Foreign manufacturers risk losing their positions in this massive, lucrative and swiftly evolving market. A team of Boston Consulting Group managing directors and partners knowledgeable of the automotive and mobility sector bring a wealth of expertise to their concise outline of the competitive landscape in China’s new mobility markets. Along with a sobering assessment of the challenges facing foreign original equipment manufacturers, their paper offers essential insights to help incumbents stay in the game.

Summary

As China embraces new mobility modes, Chinese auto manufacturers stand to dominate the market.

China represents the largest automotive market in the world, accounting for more than 27 million sales in 2018. Now, China could also become the world’s major market for emerging mobility modes. Already, China represents the largest market for ride hailing, thanks in part to Beijing’s promotion of ride sharing. The Chinese government is also pushing for significant increases in autonomous vehicle (AV) and electric vehicle (EV) use. And as this shift occurs, Chinese manufacturers are coming out on top. Didi Chuxing commands ride hailing, having defended the market from both Uber and its domestic competitor Meituan Dianping. Tech mammoth Baidu has taken the lead in AV development; its Apollo autonomous driving platform could give it a lock on the Chinese AV market. Baidu participates in the AI National Team initiative – China’s bid to become a world leader in AI. And Chinese EV start-ups are benefiting from massive investment, along with generous...

About the Authors

Brian Collie, Gang Xu and Alex Wachtmeister managing directors and partners at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), leading the firm’s automotive and mobility sector. Thomas Palme, also a managing director and partner, serves as a core member of the automotive and mobility sector and a member of the Center for Mobility Innovation. Christoph Meyer consults with BCG, focusing on international mobility and transportation.

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