Do they mean us? UK media judged ‘most sceptical’ about Chinese car brands
A global survey has tracked media reporting around Chinese car brands and put the UK on the naughty step with Saudi Arabia
UK and Saudi media outlets are together blamed for a chunky 30 per cent of the “worldwide scepticism” aimed at Chinese car brands in media reports. That’s according to a new survey by ‘reputation and media intelligence’ firm Carma.
We’re not sure if we’re proud or embarrassed to be a part of that record here at Auto Express, but hopefully it speaks to a generally more incisive standard of automotive reporting in the UK than you might find elsewhere. Or maybe we’re just grumpier.
Carma’s report focuses mostly on the positivity surrounding Chinese car brands, however, and it points to stats suggesting that 80 per cent of drivers who own a Chinese vehicle believe their cars feature cutting-edge technology. UK media coverage does back that up, we’re told, with Carma calculating that 66 per cent of UK coverage as a whole presents positive messaging about Chinese brand innovation.
BYD is China’s star
According to the report, BYD has emerged as the Chinese brand dominating the media conversation. It suggests the brand received more than double the coverage of Chinese rivals including Geely and Xpeng when it came to totting up stories reflecting a sense of positive innovation. On the same measure, it trounced established European brands BMW and VW by an even bigger margin.
Carma puts this down to BYD’s “rapid product expansion, innovation in battery and EV technologies as well as a growing global footprint in Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia”. That said, according to Carma, all Chinese brands are benefitting from the positive vibes BYD is creating.
“Our analysis revealed that Chinese automotive brands have gained 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,” says Jennifer Sanchis, senior insights consultant at Carma. “In fact, BYD leads in terms of share of voice compared to several other Chinese and established brands and generated 41 per cent of all positive coverage of Chinese brands.”
The survey was based on 12,000 media articles published online from January 2024 to January 2025, with analysis carried out by an AI tool. Carma hasn’t recorded which country’s journalists are most sceptical about the rise of artificial intelligence.
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