China’s light-vehicle market managed to rebound in 2021 after three straight years of decline, aided in part by a shift that has grown nonstop over the years: an inflow of women that is outpacing that of men among licensed motorists.

While overtaking GM as the top-selling automaker in the U.S., Toyota Motor Co. pulled off a rare feat in China last year — it was the only major global automaker to gain meaningful share in the market.

It is way too early to call winners and losers as the explosive EV market emerges from infancy into adolescence while so far drawing little participation from global brands.

While selling electric vehicles under their existing brands, major Chinese carmakers have launched a plethora of new EV marques since last year to fend off competition from Tesla and domestic EV startups.