Tesla dominates world’s automakers as Chinese brands ramp up competition

Billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) company currently tops the list of the world’s 50 most valuable automakers, according to data compiled by Anadolu from the companiesmarketcap.com website.

Japanese carmaker Toyota followed Tesla with $240 billion in market cap, which was then followed by Chinese firms Xiaomi and BYD with $111.9 billion and $110.1 billion, respectively.

While most of Xiaomi’s revenue comes from the myriad of different technological products the firm makes, the Chinese company announced it would start EV production in 2021 and launched its battery electric sports car, the SU7, last year.

European carmakers Ferrari, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz followed the Chinese brands with market caps of $78.2 billion, $58.4 billion, and $57.7 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, General Motors came in eighth with $56 billion, followed by BMW with $52.4 billion, and Volkswagen with $50.7 billion.

Turkish automakers also made it to the top 50, as Ford Otosan ranked 38th with $9.1 billion and Tofas ranked 47th with a $3 billion market cap.

Chinese brands on rise

The auto industry worldwide is going through a massive transition with the rise of EVs. The prominent players in the auto industry still include brands that produce gasoline cars but a new generation of automakers with major investments in EV production also has come to the fore.

The shift to EVs is radically tipping the scale of competition in the global auto industry, with traditional carmaker giants trying to maintain their market with innovative EV models and even self-driving cars, while Chinese brands are increasing their competition.

Among the top 50 automakers, 17 of them are Chinese. The list features eight Japanese, six American, four German, and three Indian carmakers.

South Korea, Sweden, Türkiye, and Taiwan each have two carmakers in the top 50, while France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Vietnam each have only one.