Chinese car brands are set for a breakthrough in global sales thanks to local developments in electric vehicle technology, according to the head of Tencent’s automotive content portal.

A series of “strong local brands” will begin to increase their volume of international sales as a result of investment in “new energy” vehicles, claims Ge Yan, deputy general manager for the regional portal operations department at Chinese internet giant Tencent.

Speaking exclusively to M&M Global, Yan explained that Tencent had launched a dedicated automotive online platform in response to what it predicts to be the increasing international competitiveness of China’s auto industry.

The portal, called Tencent Auto (below), launched during last month’s Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition and will promote both new vehicles as well as “the industry a whole”, with a particular focus on electric vehicles.

“New-energy vehicles have become an important area of development for the auto industry worldwide,” said Yan. “This category is an important part of China’s auto industry development strategy.

“The development of new-energy vehicles is expected to improve the international competitiveness of China’s auto industry, motivating companies to upgrade and innovate in their approaches. Tencent Auto has been designed to promote understanding of these new vehicles and the technologies within them.”

Government backing

Electric vehicle sales in China during the third quarter reached 40,000, up from 17,600 in the same period in 2013, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. However, this falls some way short of the Chinese government’s ambitious targets for the production and sales of electric vehicles – 500,000 and five million respectively.

Chinese consumers are “starting to recognise” some of the products on the market, says Yan, although she admits there are “still some gaps” for China to close on the West when it comes to technology and infrastructure. And the more the market develops, the more likely it is Chinese brands will succeed overseas.

“As the sector develops here, it will help the growth of the electric vehicle sector worldwide. Looking into the longer term, the national market can support the development of Chinese companies to sell overseas, whether that is around components or around full cars,” says Yan.

BYD and Volvo, owned by Chinese manufacturer Geely, are earmarked by Yan for global success, while she observes at international brands such as Nissan and BMW are “represented heavily” at Chinese auto events. Yan even describes Nissan’s Leaf electric vehicle as “the future” given its high-end positioning.

Content offering

Tencent backed the Guangzhou Auto Show with a major content operation, extending its standard news and features offering to include “new approaches” to automotive page cards on the Tencent news app, “touch-screen” versions of news stories and video pages which could be delivered across multiple devices.

It comes at a significant moment for Tencent’s wider content plans. The firm, which owns popular messaging service WeChat, last week announced a new video content strategy, including a deal to build a new Tencent Video platform for HBO TV dramas, including ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Newsroom’. And Tencent’s online video viewership is significant – it claims that TV show ‘Divorce Lawyers’ was broadcast on-demand over two billion times.

Sun Zhonghuai, general manager of Tencent’s online video division, said the company is going to switch from “purely profit-making” to the production of the “right drama products” for online platforms. The aim is to transform the seller-buyer relationship into one of “co-creation, co-production and co-operation”.

Tencent Video is also planning investments in movie production, online “superstar” music concerts and “better online interaction” with audiences.