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

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

Mercedes-Benz had a market share of 9.4 per cent in Singapore in 2015, which stayed almost the same at 9.2 per cent in 2025.

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.”