For Chinese cars abroad, the road's getting wider but tougher

But it's true that China's first-mover advantage in electric vehicles is generating new opportunities with their acceleration and futuristic features, including big displays, onboard karaoke and automatic parking.

Auto giants in both Germany and Japan are slower in their transition to the new era because of their dominant position and good profit in the internal combustion engine vehicle sector.

So the leading position in the new game of EVs has emboldened Chinese carmakers. Zhao Aimin, executive vice-president of SAIC International, said what Chinese carmakers have achieved in global markets has motivated and emboldened many veterans, including himself, in the industry.

SAIC's MG4 Electric, developed for the global market, has been well received. The model is expected to see its R&D cost of around 1 billion yuan ($145.6 million) being recovered in around 2.5 years, half the time for most models.

This has made the carmaker more determined to launch more such models developed by its Chinese and international teams based on demands of overseas customers.

But global giants including Volkswagen and BMW are designing, developing and launching their own EV models as well. In terms of scale and brand awareness, Chinese brands are no match at all.

When Chinese EV startup Nio expanded into Germany last year, CEO William Li said it's no more than a "primary school student "compared with those car giants in Europe, despite local media reports that Nio is launching an offensive to take those behemoths head on.

"Europe is the home turf of our respectable rivals, and they have a much deeper understanding of local customers and the car industry itself. They are definitely the examples we want to learn from," he said.

The difference isn't limited to understanding. Among Chinese auto exporters, SAIC has been the largest exporter for seven years in a row, accounting for roughly one-third of the total. The carmaker said it has just started to make money in overseas markets.