After years of development, the overall pattern of China's automobile market has finally been overturned and completely ushered in reconstruction. The collective upward movement of Chinese brands has not only resulted in a rapid increase in market share, rapid evolution of the new energy industry, and a value reconstruction that far exceeds expectations in market transformation, but also made once arrogant foreign car companies bow down and learn from us, systematically understanding the ways of dealing with the new era. At this stage, Chinese cars are indeed becoming increasingly expensive, but interestingly, relying on technological iteration and high-value product calibration, the new generation of consumers have put aside their prejudices and have a trend of becoming their fans. In just two years, emerging Chinese car brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei's "Five Realms", and NIO have shown the energy to surpass BBA. Faced with such a situation, joint venture car companies that are facing challenges from both sides naturally know that if they do not take action, survival will become a difficult problem. Since the beginning of last year, the electrification 2.0 offensive launched by Toyota and Nissan has been a major move in the Chinese market. The launch of localized new cars such as the Platinum 3X and N7 has indeed shown the joint venture's unwillingness to lie flat to the outside world. As we enter 2026, companies such as General Motors and Volkswagen are also joining in to regain market dominance from Chinese automakers, and we can increasingly feel the determination of joint venture brands not to be on the edge of the market.

But if you work hard, will you definitely receive corresponding rewards? Compared to the golden years of the past, given the current market situation, not to mention that Chinese brands have completely dominated the development direction of the Chinese car market, the trust of Chinese users in Chinese brands has reached an unprecedented level in the overall trend. When the scene of "high priced Chinese cars selling well for a long time" is not a flash in the pan, but truly makes other market participants feel a crisis, it means that the filters imposed on joint venture brands are not only shattered by reality, but often there is no brand surplus in most segmented markets. In today's high oil prices, 'pure electricity is the future' is no longer an ambiguous proposition. Regardless of consumers' attitudes towards joint ventures or the joint venture's own judgment on the development of the times, abandoning its past position and finding breakthroughs in the midst of Chinese brand attacks seems to have become a key option for overseas giants to survive in China in the future.

01 Ideal is not worth reality

Several months have passed since 2026, and many events are indicating that in the process of electrification transformation, joint venture car companies have already played their cards. Volkswagen released several pure trams at one go, including ID.ERA 9X, Zou08/09 and ID.AURA T6. BMW brought the new generation iX3 and i3 into China together, Nissan launched NX8, Buick launched Endbound E7, etc. For this series of operations, even if the onlookers no longer like the joint venture style, there must be nothing to complain about roast. However, the tremendous changes in the Chinese car market have always been rapid. When joint venture brands come to their senses one by one and face the already dominant Chinese brands, what they really need to think about has shifted from "how to keep up with industry transformation" to the most fundamental level of "how to gain basic respect from new energy vehicle users".

That is to say, as the terminal market clearly judges the development status of new and old forces, and no longer uses traditional car selection logic to balance each new car, it is not an easy task for joint ventures to regain their original territory from Chinese car companies. Over the past year, with an absolutely localized research and development approach, joint venture new cars such as the Platinum Smart 3X have had a period of highlights, maintaining monthly sales of over 10000 units and finally sweeping away the gloom of previous models hitting the market cold. But it cannot be ignored that, except for Platinum Smart 3X, the freshness of similar products has significantly decreased. The Nissan N7 has been on the market for less than half a year, and the N6 must come on board to put out the fire; The Buick E5 is no longer able to turn the tide, and the monthly sales of the Zhijing L7 have quickly dropped below a thousand units; Mazda EZ-60 hovering around 2000 vehicles per month; The Honda P7/S7 is completely powerless to turn the tide; Modern EO even died suddenly after going public; Even the Mercedes Benz pure electric CLA didn't sell well... A lot of reality is in front of us. To be honest, it's really uncertain how much improvement the new round of awakening in the joint venture can bring to us. At the end of the Beijing Auto Show in April, everyone was saying that there were too many new cars to remember, and the resulting consumer wait-and-see sentiment may only increase and not decrease. Will the electric vehicle offensive of Chinese brands converge as a result? Obviously not. The first two years were a year of large-scale welcome for the MPV market; Last year was another year of collective outbreak of mid to large sized SUVs; This year, the war in these niche markets has not yet been extinguished, and niche markets such as station wagons have experienced another wave of new car sales. Chinese car companies, known as' war gods' per capita, are truly irresistible.

Looking at monthly sales, the data won't lie. Without adding any attributive, the top few pure electric vehicles in the market at all levels, except for Tesla, basically have no quota for joint venture models. A few days ago, at the pre-sale release of a new car for a luxury joint venture brand, the company's executives criticized the industry for always having people who would use pure electric new cars to brush up traffic, and regarded the event of special tuned cars (changing tires, changing suspension, writing separate software) brushing up results as a show that is disconnected from the actual user experience. From an industry perspective, regardless of the facts, it is difficult for us to make an objective evaluation of such criticism. But from the perspective of continuously improving pure electric technology, the hysteria of joint venture car companies is unnecessary. In this new era where cars are almost linked to consumer electronics, the reality of "the market is like a battlefield" will never change. At the same time, any operation that can make consumers willing to spend money is a subject worth pondering. In today's world where brands have lost their old glory, every step taken by joint ventures needs to maintain the bottom line of the enterprise and demonstrate the same product courage and strategic determination as Chinese car companies. Since last year, among any new energy vehicle models produced by joint venture car companies, which one is a transitional product that deviates from the needs of the times? I don't think it exists. But the problem is so significant that behind the lack of consumer recognition, it must be that the joint venture company did not consider clearly in its transformation what position it can place in the Chinese car market today.

Finding the wrong method is futile

Just after the May Day holiday, reports about the sharp decline in sales of GAC Honda 4 have been overwhelming. There are also many people sentenced to death for the future of enterprises. What can Guangqi Honda do about these? Silent processing is not acceptable, we cannot allow the outside world to speculate blindly based on scattered information; Proactive responses may not be very effective, as the reality of poor sales is like a steel nail that locks in all actions of companies to defend themselves. At the end of the day, the current Chinese market is so ruthless that even a surge in sales can trigger multiple interpretations, let alone the kind of public opinion backlash that poor sales can bring. The exports left for joint ventures are narrowing and time is running out. While this is true, the future market landscape has not yet been fully established. As long as we maintain a positive attitude, there will always be opportunities. This year, we often see that GAC Toyota has placed the sales performance of the Platinum 3X in the most prominent part of its promotional campaign. The only purpose for grasping the product replacement cycle and update level is to fully align with Chinese brands. The price can be reduced, the configuration can be added, and the software can frequently OTA. Whether it will make money or whether it will have an impact on existing fuel vehicle products is not its focus.

When the era of pure electric vehicles accelerates, we need to be very clear that for joint venture car companies, there is no premium for brands. That is to say, on the surface, every household is promoting the localization of products and technology in China, which is a manifestation of the increased emphasis on the Chinese market. In fact, this is no longer within the scope of actively seeking change, but something that must be done to survive. In the 100000 level automobile market, we never deny that due to the inherent concept of sinking into the market or long-term user reputation, just like how the Xuan Yi and Lang Yi can still stand at the forefront of the market, the user base of joint venture brands has not shrunk much. So, as long as the price does not exceed the same level of competitors, whether it is a gasoline car or an electric car, joint ventures can naturally achieve consumer recognition. In recent years, Chinese brands have already surpassed the price barrier of 200000 yuan, relying not on the luck of the times to create heroes, but on the rapid transformation of their products. When this trend is no longer reversible, joint venture brands are increasingly penetrating downwards, which becomes a microcosm of market dominance exchange. In the era of pure electricity, 150000 yuan has become a barrier for joint ventures to break through. In the mainstream new energy market with a price tag of over 150000 yuan, where is the competitiveness of joint venture new cars when there are a wide variety of products? At this stage, it is no longer a concern for consumers, but rather a topic that car companies themselves need to explore. Like the Platinum 3X, GAC Toyota is very concerned about the market feedback of the Platinum 7. Although monthly sales of over 4000 units may not be a remarkable achievement, GAC Toyota should be pleased with its understanding of China's mid to high end pure electric sedans from top to bottom. Even if the Toyota logo is removed, the Platinum 7 is still a Chinese style pure electric new car that meets potential users.

In contrast, whether in the pure electric sedan market controlled by Tesla Model 3 and Xiaomi SU7, or in the high-end market dominated by a large number of large-sized SUVs, it seems difficult to find another competitive new car in the joint venture product matrix. Either the price is not surprising, the configuration is not advanced enough, or the level of intelligence has not reached the first tier, and there is no unique advantage in comprehensive development. The ultimate result can only be around a thousand units sold per month. Next, joint venture car companies will have new cards to play. SAIC Volkswagen ID.ERA 5S, Shenxingzhe 8, and Hyundai Enik V are all among the next wave of new cars. Even Dongfeng Peugeot is brewing big moves, but no matter what, in the high-value market that emphasizes multi angle product advantages, aligning with Chinese competitors in product performance is only the first step for joint ventures to create a new world. How to make people think of themselves among the numerous new cars is the key to solving the problem of being locked up by 150000 yuan.