Auto Sport: The Invasion of Chinese Manufacturers

Chinese automotive giants are eyeing the racetracks to transform their industrial power into legitimacy.

Once confined to its immense domestic market, the Chinese automotive industry has now reached a turning point. By 2025, China is by far the world’s largest producer of vehicles, with over 30 million units produced in the year, surpassing Europe and the United States combined. Domestic sales exceed 26 million vehicles, while exports set a new record, around 5.5 to 6 million cars, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), confirming the global offensive of Chinese manufacturers.

The dominance is even more spectacular in the field of new energy vehicles (NEVs). By 2025, more than one in two new cars sold in China will be electric or hybrid, with around 15 to 16 million units sold in the year. Globally, China accounts for over 60% of electric vehicle sales, imposing its industrial standards, volumes, and costs.

However, behind this raw power, the Chinese model remains fragile. A destructive price war, chronic overcapacity, plummeting margins, and massive dependence on public subsidies paint a picture of a giant with feet of clay, sustained by a drip-feed of state aid. Within the domestic market alone, dozens of brands are competing for a pie that is no longer growing. BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery, Changan, and Greatwall engage in fierce competition, often at a loss, while numerous secondary players struggle for survival.

In this context, exporting is no longer a choice, but a vital necessity. However, selling internationally is not just about offering technologically competitive cars or aggressive pricing. It is also about building an image, legitimacy, and desirability. And in this field, Chinese manufacturers start with a historical disadvantage.

Competition as a Credibility Accelerator

In the history of automobiles, competition has always served as a shortcut to recognition. The most striking example remains that of Ford at Le Mans in 1966. The American challenger against the European institutions represented by Ferrari and Porsche, Ford needed only 24 hours of racing to buy itself global sports legitimacy. A crushing victory that permanently changed the brand’s perception. Easy? No, but Ford managed to delegate the sports part to Carroll Shelby’s structure and focus on financing the project and, above all, on its media exposure!

This precedent resonates today with particular acuity for Chinese manufacturers. They too must prove, quickly, that they are capable of competing with historical references in their most sacred hunting ground: international automotive competition. The first step: Endurance.

WEC and LMDh, a Historic Opportunity

Access to the very highest level has never been as open as it is today. The LMDh regulations of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, offer an unforeseen strategic window. Unlike Formula 1, the ultra-exclusive technological pantheon, LMDh is based on a streamlined, controlled, and relatively financially accessible client model.

The manufacturer chooses a chassis approved by one of four designated specialists: ORECA, Dallara, Ligier, or Multimatic. The engine can be derived from a production block or purchased from a reputable engine manufacturer like Gibson, Cosworth, or Mecachrome, and the hybrid system is standardized. When it comes to putting the Hypercar on the track, the entire setup can be entrusted to an experienced operational structure: Signatech for Alpine, AF Corse for Ferrari, Penske for Porsche, or WRT for BMW. As you can see, a manufacturer with no sports division can do its shopping to fully build its program.

The Balance of Performance (BoP) finally levels performance, giving each brand a credible chance of victory. An anathema for purists, but a major strategic lever for new entrants.

An Irresistible Economic Equation

Peugeot, Ferrari, and Toyota, which build their own cars according to the LMH regulations, have budgets that can exceed 50 million euros annually. But thanks to the regulations, for around 30 million euros per season, a manufacturer can today secure exceptional global visibility and aim for victory in iconic events like the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Daytona, or of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In comparison, a Formula 1 season is capped at 200 million euros but requires very heavy industrial investments to design and produce a chassis. Thus, teams at the top of the table need close to 500 million euros. This is an unreachable horizon in the short term for Chinese manufacturers, who lack even the necessary infrastructure, while the urgency is to forge a prestigious image without delay.

A significant investment, but one that does not take into account the contributions from sponsorship. We can imagine that major Chinese brands will be interested in this media exposure and that financing a season should not pose too many problems. These figures should especially be viewed in relation to the annual communication and marketing budgets of manufacturers like BYD and SAIC, which are set to exceed 4 billion yuan (Source: Statista 2025) in 2025, which is nearly half a billion euros!

China on the Dawn of a High-Speed Turn

It is therefore not a coincidence that Geely with Lynk & Co and Chery with Exeed are no longer hiding their intention to engage in the 24 Hours of Le Mans within the next five years. Two groups that are among the heavyweights of the Chinese market but are still seeking real global legitimacy. Lynk & Co has been a major player in the World Touring Car Championship for years, but outside of a circle of insiders who know about it? To make themselves known and recognized, they must aim faster, higher, stronger. The example of Genesis is illuminating in this regard. The premium brand of the South Korean group Hyundai will participate in WEC starting in 2026. The manufacturer has been training this season in the LMP2 category with support from the French structure IDEC, but will proudly compete next season in the top category under the South Korean banner. A French ORECA chassis, the reference of the moment, a turbo V8 engine, assembled from two blocks of the successful 4-cylinder Hyundai in the World Rally Championship (WRC), and six top-level drivers including our three French “Top Guns”: Paul-Loup Chatin (ex-Alpine), Mathieu Jaminet (ex-Porsche), and Mathys Jaubert. A striking demonstration of how an Asian manufacturer can use endurance to establish its premium status and compete with European references. You can be sure that other Chinese giants are watching closely, aware that remaining absent from this stage would leave the field open to their competitors.

Le Mans as a Revealer

For Chinese manufacturers, endurance is therefore not a sports whim. It is a strategic tool, a credibility accelerator, and a short-term image investment. Le Mans remains a universal arbiter, a theater where legends are forged and where decades of recognition can be won, sometimes in just one race.

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• 18/12/2025 15:24

Farewell to the Dunlop Bridge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

In 24 hours, Ford changed its destiny. In 2025, as China dominates global automotive production through volume, technology, and exports, there remains only one thing it lacks: a symbolic victory on the international sports stage. Le Mans offers this shortcut, but one must never forget that Le Mans chooses its winner. The remaining question is who will dare to be the first to challenge the legend… and who will know how to transform industrial power into eternal legitimacy.

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