The hidden costs of owning a new Chinese car as they rise in popularity

The presence of Chinese cars is growing enormously around the globe.

Brands such as BYD, SAIC Motor, and Great Wall Motors are constantly expanding.

Owning a Chinese car does come with hidden costs, however.

And these are some of the biggest hidden costs to consider.

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If you’ve been paying any attention to the car industry, you will have noticed a massive trend.

The trend in question specifically points to the rapid rise of the Chinese car industry.

For the past few years, the global car industry has undergone a rapid evolution.

In most areas of the world, there has been an enormous boom in the demand for EVs.

And one of the biggest markets to benefit from that boom has been the Chinese car market.

China’s biggest success story has been that of its premier EV marque, BYD.

April of 2025 saw BYD overtake Tesla in European sales for the first time ever.

The data clearly shows the aggressive growth of the Chinese market.

Alongside BYD’s charge into the EV market, other brands are making a lot of noise as well.

Great Wall Motors, for example, has announced one of China’s first-ever supercars.

The company even believes that it can take on Europe’s standard-bearer, Ferrari.

Interestingly, a brand-new study was recently released concerning the global car market.

And it displays some interesting considerations for owners of Chinese cars.

This study, conducted in Vietnam, considers the depreciation factors of different car brands.

But it’s not the most pleasant reading for the Chinese brands.

The study considered three popular models sold by the Chinese marque MG, which is owned by SAIC.

For research purposes, the models chosen were the MG5 sedan, ZS SUV, and the HS SUV.

These models were all built between 2022 and 2024, and were chosen in order to examine the level of depreciation.

And it’s fair to say that the results were genuinely fascinating.

MG’s HS SUV saw the steepest drop-off, depreciating by over 33 percent in just two years.

Similarly, the MG 5 sedan lost 27 percent of its value, whilst the ZS SUV depreciated by 24 percent.

By direct comparison, Japanese giant Toyota performs extremely well.

Toyota’s models, on average, only dropped by about 10-12 percent over the same two years.

Admittedly, this is only one study from one country’s economy.

But could it be reflective of a larger, global trend in the future?