'We do not need this many brands': New electric car brand Zeekr warns of industry shakeup that could see household names vanish in Australia

Incoming EV brand Zeekr said change is coming to the new-car market, and the company's VP of International, Mars Chen, suggested "we do not need so many brands".

Speaking at the international launch of the right-hand drive Zeekr 009 – the brand's luxury electric people mover that will be in Australia before the end of the year – the executive forecasted consolidation among existing automotive brands, which are now facing increased competition from China and other newer markets.

Mr Chen likened the current state of play to the technology industry, in which a handful of key players control as much as 80 per cent of a market.

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The key, he said, will be embracing the digital future. And those who don't will "probably be abandoned by the market".

"The whole industry is evolving fast, because the car is starting to connect to digital technology. In the digital world – mobile, computer, software, cloud – the market is very, very consolidated. Like the top three cloud players, the top three mobile players, etc," he said.

"This is something every car maker needs to face – what is our capacity in digital? Do we have relevant culture, relevant talent to support the digital transformation? If not, you'll probably be abandoned by the market.

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"I think every car maker in the world, if you embrace the challenge, if you do the transformation well, you will be the master."

Mr Chen suggested the automotive consolidation won't be quite so extreme as reducing the global car industry to just three players, the automotive executive suggests consolidation of some sort is coming.

"There are some differences, because car industry is a very huge industry that's related to GDP. So every country is trying to do something for this industry," he said.

"So I think that it might be not be as radical as mobile or software, but still it will be consolidated more. We do not need so many brands."

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Australia was already one of the world's most competitive new car market places, and has grown even more so as new brands arrive almost weekly.

That includes brands that have just launched, or that soon will, like Zeekr, Jaecoo, Xpeng, BYD, Leapmotor, GAC, Geely, Foton, Smart and more.

Their arrival has Australia's existing automotive brands worried about the impact on the new car market here, with one executive warning it will "change dramatically".

"There will be some successes, and there will some failures. Will it affect some of the legacy brands that are in Australia? I think probably yes. People hate the status quo changing, but guess what? It's going to change. And I think it's going to change dramatically," Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith has previously told CarsGuide.