Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are targeting the European market. According to consulting firm Innowave, 8% of new electric vehicles sold in Europe this year have been made by Chinese brands, up from 6% last year and 4% in 2021 – Photo: MG
Normally, the IAA International Motor Show provides an opportunity for automakers, especially German ones, to showcase their latest, most impressive innovations, surprising visitors and media alike.
But with IAA 2023, the press revolves around only one issue: The wave of electric cars from China threatens German automakers domestically. According to autonewsThe number of Chinese cars at IAA 2023 is double that of the 2021 exhibition (IAA is held every 2 years).
“IAA will become China’s platform”, this is the opinion of Germany’s leading economic weekly WirtschaftsWoche, Another major German newspaper is mirror “The German auto industry will go through challenging times”, predicted.
there are still sheets Luck America gave a very bitter assessment: “This country (Germany – Reporter) had to be humbled by the success of Elon Musk’s Tesla. This company easily pushed down companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. They would not even want to emerge Wang Brands like Chuanfu’s BYD are increasing their troubles in Europe as they seek to avoid a price-cutting war with Musk in China.
Export potential of Chinese cars
Brian Yang, head of BYD Europe, said in an interview with the German daily Handelsblatt: “We want to make high quality products at affordable prices.”
The “occupation” of Chinese cars at the German auto show is a warning to companies to make really good cars at competitive prices – Photo: BYD
theo southgerman newspaperGermany’s largest daily newspaper, the Chinese produce about 40 million cars every year. This number is 15 million more than the actual demand in the domestic market, and is much larger than the size of the European automobile market. In addition, the country also controls 90% of the world’s electric vehicle battery supply through suppliers such as CATL and Gotion.
If China can take advantage of this to make cars like the BYD Seal – high quality but with a “soft” price compared to its competitors, then it will be extremely difficult for the rest of the car industry to compete.
“China is setting its sights on the European market. They have the potential to fundamentally change the face of industry,” said Sigrid de Vries, head of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
“Smile outside, not smile inside”
China used to be a springboard for the development of German car manufacturers. But now Germany has retreated.
Mercedes-Benz sold half of its shares in Smart to Geely. BMW turned to Great Wall Motors for help developing the electric Mini, and the Germans will use cars imported from China. At the time, these deals were considered a win-win.
Now, Volkswagen, which once made waves in China, spent US$700 million to own only 5% of the shares in Xpeng, hoping to strengthen its lack of experience in the development of electric vehicles.
Through cooperation with Xpeng, Volkswagen hopes to “redraw” the sales map in the Chinese market – Photo: Numerama
Handelsblatt Volkswagen is no longer confident after clearly miscalculating and must seek help to turn the sad situation around: 38,000 electric cars were sold in the first half of 2023, while BYD sold up to half a million units.
“Tsunami” is delayed
In fact, based on what Japan and Korea have done, it has long been predicted that cheap Chinese cars will “take over” the Western market. But due to various reasons this “wave” has not yet materialized.
However, it seems that this “wave” has begun, just not in the direction previously believed. Chinese cars don’t just invade the world with cheap products that are questionable from a safety point of view. As BYD said, they want to make cars that are both affordable and of high quality.
Leapmotor is also a name that is attracting the attention of carmakers like Stellantis and Volkswagen – Photo: CarsScoops
To do this, they quickly caught the wave of conversion from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, removing the “Made in China” label that often comes with poor quality and building the image of really good Chinese cars. . They capture the “heart” of electric vehicles, the battery, and develop software that takes into account a growing proportion of modern cars.
Currently, according to Luck, only Tesla can compete with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers on cost. In fact, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, is also being considered as China’s answer to WeChat.
However, German carmakers still maintain their inherent confidence. in an interview with HandelsblattBMW CEO Oliver Zipse said: “Ambition is not synonymous with success.” He believes that the Chinese people cannot make cars that suit European tastes, and it is difficult to build a network of maintenance facilities that is sufficient and thorough.
CarScoops assesses that the presence of Chinese cars at IAA 2023 only reflects growth in strength, and cannot say anything about the ability to conquer the market. In the past, Japanese and Korean cars had to work extremely hard to make their mark in the European market famous for loyalty and pride. However, there is a dearth of truly affordable electric cars in this market, and Chinese manufacturers could take full advantage of this gap – Photo: Carscoops
But from what happened at the IAA exhibition, it seems that the story does not stop at “ambition”. Hildegard Mueller, president of the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA), said Germany is losing competitiveness, and the IAA auto show is a clear demonstration of high international competitive pressure.
(tags to translate)Chinese cars(T)Chinese cars(T)Auto exhibition(T)German cars(T)Electric cars(T)Electric cars(T)Chinese electric cars
