(Munich) Chinese automakers’ electric models, low-cost or high-tech, caught the eye on Monday at the Munich Motor Show (IAA), one of the biggest in the world, which puts European industry in the face of this increasingly ambitious competition.
Weakened by these new players, the German manufacturers Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes are trying to put on a good show, but have not presented any models ready for marketing.
BMW has unveiled its “Neue Klasse” (New Class) concept of six electric cars for 2025, with its sights set on the end of combustion engines in Europe in 2035.
Mercedes has lifted the veil on the CLA concept, a particularly energy-efficient range. And Volkswagen is showing two concepts, from the Cupra brand and the VW.
On the French side, and more concretely, Renault has unveiled its new electric Scenic, which brings the iconic minivan closer to SUVs. It will be available from 2024.
But it is especially the non-European brands that attract attention: for its return to the show after ten years of absence, Tesla brought a new version of its popular Model 3, the benchmark of the electric range, on display for the first time in Munich.
Chinese competition is “launching its assault on Europe” with the show, summarizes Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, expert from the Center Automotive Research in Germany.
The giant BYD has arrived with a series of electric models for the European market, alongside Leapmotor, Dongfeng, and Geely.
On its stand, even more crowded than those of the German brands, BYD presented its Seal U SUV model which it intends to introduce in the fifteen countries of the continent where it is present.
Of the exhibitors, 41% are headquartered in China. Their advantage is to offer models at significantly lower prices, while entry-level electric cars are still rare.
Against the backdrop of persistent inflation in Europe, “I’m afraid consumers don’t have enough deep enough pockets to go electric,” Matt Lei, president of the international business division, told AFP. leap motor. “This is where we see an opportunity,” he added.
The young Chinese start-up has just launched in France, for the first time outside China, with a compact electric car model at 26,000 euros.
But Chinese competitors “will not be able to offer the same prices in Europe as in China,” Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume ruled on Monday, referring to customs costs, transport costs or those to set up a network of distributors.
The first European manufacturer does not consider the game lost, on the contrary: “we will continue to work hard on our costs” and the margins of the electric models could reach those of the thermal versions “in the second half of the decade”, he said. -he rocks.
“We also have all the weapons to be competitive and to do well in the game,” echoed the boss of the Renault brand, Fabrice Cambolive, referring to “the quality” of the products, and the “short circuit” argument with mainly European manufacturing.
But the price is not the only added value of Chinese brands, which are much more “technological”, assures AFP Spiros Fotinos, European director of the Zeekr brand (Geely group).
“People who are going electric are starting to learn about all the technologies they can get for the same price and are becoming more open to new brands,” he says.
European producers also have a lot to do to defend their place in China. On the electric, Volkswagen represented only 3.1% of the market last year while it is the leader in the thermal market. The German group is far behind Chinese brands such as BYD (18%) and the American Tesla (8.7%).
To assert itself, the German giant plans to strengthen its strategy in China “for China”, by locating not only manufacturing, but also design.
Another expected presence at the show: that of environmental movements. On Monday, Greenpeace activists put carcasses in the lake in front of the main entrance to the exhibition center.
On Tuesday, the event will be officially opened by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In total, 700,000 visitors are expected at the IAA until Sunday, compared to 410,000 during the previous edition in 2021.
