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Chinese car manufacturers are spreading in Germany - "Costs only half as much as a Mercedes"

2023-04-17T10:55:27.304Z


China's automakers are targeting the European auto market. Are they cheap copies of local models? Not at all. German experts go into raptures.


China's automakers are targeting the European auto market.

Are they cheap copies of local models?

Not at all.

German experts go into raptures.

Munich – As the most populous country, China is the largest sales market in the world.

For many years, this also applied to German car manufacturers who sell a large part of their vehicles in Asia.

But the ideal world has recently started to crumble.

Since electrification has picked up speed, corporations such as VW, BMW and Mercedes have increasingly fallen behind in the Middle Kingdom.

The reason is that Chinese brands have been able to gather expertise in vehicle construction over a long period of time and the cards are being reshuffled with the mobility turnaround.

Suddenly they are technology leaders instead of laggards. In addition to competence in electrical engineering, connectivity and autonomous driving also play an important role.

As a result, the tables are turned in the automotive industry: More and more Chinese manufacturers are pushing into the European car market.

Due to the growing competitive environment, the fight for sales figures is getting tougher, even in Germany.

Due to the expertise from the Middle Kingdom, the international car markets will change significantly in the coming years, experts predict accordingly.

Chinese automakers are targeting Germany - unlike BMW and Mercedes

One of them is Frank Liebold.

"Especially when it comes to electric vehicles in the mid-range segment, new manufacturers from Asia are pushing into the German market," explains the Country Director Germany at Atradius, a global financial services provider.

According to him, local car manufacturers such as BMW or Mercedes have no intention of keeping up with the offers of the China armada at home - and refers to the segment of the electrified middle class.

The current example is the Nio ET5, which defies BMW, VW and Co.

Conversely, local car manufacturers would try their luck where the highest sales figures can potentially be found.

In addition to the USA, these are high-growth Asian regions, which include China and India.

"They (German manufacturers, editor's note) are increasingly looking for their customers outside of Europe - and are going to places where the BMW or Mercedes brands still enjoy a good reputation," Liebold is convinced.

While in the West the trend is towards alternative mobility concepts and the car is losing importance as a mere status symbol, the situation in these countries is different: "Prosperity is growing and many do not yet have a car: a promising growth market for brands that are considered high-quality. Made in Germany'”, explains the expert.

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Chinese flag waving in the wind: car manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom are conquering the world markets.

© IMAGO/Yuri Smityuk

China's car manufacturers are pushing to Germany - and are cheaper than premium brands

Wirtschaftswoche

has analyzed that in 2023 and the years thereafter, no fewer than 18 Chinese car manufacturers with 43 models will be entering the European car market and there are signs that the top dogs will be massively contested for market shares in the future

.

The Chinese revival of the once traditional British brand MG sold around 60,000 vehicles on the continent by August last year, and the trend is rising.

Another manufacturer made the ADAC rave that it was an SUV that could compete with Mercedes in terms of quality and space: the Aiways U5.

"At 39,657 euros before deducting the subsidy premiums, the Aiways costs only about half as much as, for example, a finely equipped Mercedes EQC, which is in the same league in terms of dimensions," judged the traffic club.

The vehicle is good as an example that the models developed in China "are no longer cheap in the sense of inferior quality".

The

Wirtschaftswoche

report also mentions an innovation ranking by the “Center of Automotive Management” (CAM) institute, in which the Chinese group BYD is in third place, ahead of the automobile giants BMW and Mercedes.

Especially the know-how in terms of battery technology is emphasized.

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German car manufacturers and knowledge transfer: is the China boomerang coming?

Ultimately, the insight remains that the knowledge transfer that took place in the past threatens to come back like a boomerang.

"In the long term, the German manufacturers have dug their own grave," says a Mercedes insider.

There are also bureaucratic differences between the car brands in both countries.

Because in China, important decisions with regard to development are “simply implemented” instead of “months of internal coordination processes”.

According to reports, there are only two problems that China's car manufacturers and their customers in countries like Germany are still struggling with: complicated sales structures and the area of ​​maintenance and repairs.

Because with Chinese brands - if they are electric cars - the majority of independent workshops in this country are overwhelmed.

But it is only a matter of time before things improve: Managers of German car manufacturers expect these obstacles to be overcome.

(PF)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-04-17

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