Chinese EV makers are reshaping the auto industry. Can legacy brands catch up?

LUXURY BRANDS STANDING STRONG – FOR NOW

While mass-market brands have lost ground, luxury marques have held steady or grown. 

BMW’s market share in Singapore rose from 6.2 per cent in 2015 to 9.7 per cent in 2025. Mercedes-Benz’s share was 9.4 per cent in 2015 and 9.2 per cent in 2025.

Mr Rene Gerhard, managing director of BMW Group Asia, said that while new entrants compete strongly on price and innovation, BMW is focused on premium branding. 

“We welcome stronger competition because it pushes the industry forward, but we remain disciplined in our approach, continuing to focus on delivering a truly distinctive premium experience that goes beyond specifications alone,” he said.

Mr Marcel Mustelier Perez, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Singapore, said customers choose the brand on more than price.

“They are making a decision about the kind of ownership experience they want, and that is something built over 140 years, not replicated overnight.”

The premium marques have been largely insulated because Chinese brands compete mostly in the mass market segment, said Associate Professor of Practice Victor Kwan at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, who spent 20 years in the automotive sector before joining academia.

“Brand equity is something intangible and has to be built over time with history, evolving identities,” he said. “It will take a while for Chinese brands to build up their own aura of prestige.”

But as Singapore and other markets move towards mandating full EVs, luxury brands will have “no choice but to try to compete in the electric space”, Dr Kwan said. 

He noted that premium brands have so far struggled to justify a price premium for their EVs – partly because EVs are “essentially computers on wheels” with little differentiation on engineering or driving characteristics.

“Their traditional advantages will definitely become weaker,” he said.

But analysts said the long-term challenge facing automakers extends beyond competition in any single market segment.

“Not all new EV manufacturers will succeed in the long term, but the balance of power is clearly moving toward companies that systematically combine electrification, software, cost leadership and direct customer access,” said Prof Bratzel.

“The decisive question will be which manufacturers can transform from traditional vehicle producers into technology and service-oriented mobility providers, and which remain trapped in the old industrial paradigm.”