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Auto China Beijing 2024: The focus has long since shifted - to the Far East and to electric vehicles

The pressure is greater than ever for European manufacturers at the biggest auto show of the year in Beijing. The real innovations from the German brands on this key playing field are limited, and many are eager to see what BYD, Geely, or SAIC will unveil at their home game.

Nebulous: European manufacturers like Audi urgently need to find a formula to assert themselves in the largest car market in the world. One possible answer is hinted at by the Q6 L etron, the long version. | Photo: Audi
Nebulous: European manufacturers like Audi urgently need to find a formula to assert themselves in the largest car market in the world. One possible answer is hinted at by the Q6 L etron, the long version. | Photo: Audi
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Johannes Reichel

The Auto China takes place alternately every year in the month of April in the bustling metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai. At Auto China 2023 in Shanghai, the European manufacturers experienced a severe downfall at the first international edition after a three-year Covid hiatus, while the domestic brands unleashed a colossal fireworks display of new releases.

In the executive suites of Paris, Wolfsburg, Amsterdam, or Detroit, all warning lights flashed despite long-standing forecasts. However, such a sluggish tanker can't be steered in another direction quickly, and the current pace in China means that European manufacturers, whether volume or premium brands, have little to counter with their enormous development efforts and high production costs.

The Shanghai shock still lingers deeply

But the shock from the Shanghai Motor Show 2023 has struck hard, and many brands have set new courses. It's a call not only for the world's most important car market to become faster, but also leaner, cheaper, and more efficient. Volkswagen wants to reclaim its top position in China, which was taken from them last year by the Chinese manufacturer BYD – Build your Dreams – for the first time in over three decades.

Last year, BYD sold over 2.5 million vehicles in its home market, thanks to an increase of around 40 percent, surpassing Volkswagen, which still achieved nearly 2.3 million sales. In third place, with a significant gap, was Toyota, which, like Honda and Changan, also managed to sell more than a million vehicles.

Tesla Model Y as the Best-Selling Premium Model

Among the premium brands, Audi was the only provider to improve by double digits, although it still did not surpass Mercedes or BMW. Tesla offers the best-selling premium model in the Chinese market with the Tesla Y, which currently ranks third in the sales statistics. Ahead of the American electric SUV, manufactured near Shanghai, are two compact local players: the BYD Song and BYD Yin.

Renaissance of Plug-in Hybrids

The Chinese market is experiencing a great renaissance of plug-in hybrids amidst all the electric trends. Pure electric models are now struggling with many domestic brands. In 2023 alone, more than 2.6 million new registrations in China were accounted for by plug-in hybrid models. For market leader BYD, for example, almost every second vehicle sold in the country is a plug-in hybrid. Volkswagen, however, currently offers hardly any model as a hybrid version in China. At Li Auto, a rapidly emerging premium provider with luxury aspirations, it is still 14 percent.

China PHEVs Can Also Achieve 120 Kilometers in EV Mode

It’s no wonder that European manufacturers also need to develop a taste for hybrids again in order to succeed in the mass market. Many had wanted to part ways with part-time electricians sooner rather than later and focus solely on electric cars. That is unlikely to work, as serial hybrids play no significant role in China, because only those models receive a corresponding rating if the car can cover a significant range purely electrically even in the hybrid version. Some Chinese PHEV versions can travel 120 kilometers or more purely electrically before the internal combustion engine starts or needs to be recharged. This, among other things, makes it difficult for Japanese and Korean brands.

No WeChat: Digitalization Increases Additional Pressure

What further increases the pressure on many European manufacturers is the great importance of digitalization. Large displays with friendly smiling avatars are more important than ever, alongside the maximum integration of the WeChat chat service into the car. In China, WeChat can be used not only to chat electronically, but also to pay for everything and network numerous functions in everyday life.

Problem: even the large corporations like VW, Toyota, Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, Ford, or General Motors can only use their international technology platforms to a limited extent, and particularly the premium brands are sometimes significantly behind the Chinese manufacturers in this regard. Therefore, almost all brands are expanding their Chinese development centers significantly, either on their own or with local partners.

“The Chinese market is of central importance for Audi’s transformation into a leading global provider of premium electric mobility,” says not only Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, “with the new plant in Changchun, locally developed electric models, as well as state-of-the-art and user-need tailored digital offerings, we are pursuing our plan for sustainable success in China with full determination.”

Long running: In China, legroom in the rear is essential

Thus, Audi presents in China the crucial long version of the recently introduced Audi Q6 E-Tron. It's no different for Mercedes. The Swabians operate the largest production facility of the company in China and its most important research and development center outside Germany.It plays a significant role in the global research and development network of Mercedes-Benz. In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has continuously expanded its research and development in China, particularly in the areas of electrification and digitalization.

At the exhibition, Mercedes intends to shine particularly with its electric G-Class. Also to be seen: the new Mercedes AMG GT 63 S E-Performance and the production-close preview of the upcoming Mercedes CLA – purely electrically driven. Mini is already a step further and reveals the production version of the electric Aceman SUV in Beijing. Stefan Grundhoff/press-inform

Translated automatically from German.
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