Just two days before the official opening of the Paris Auto Show, China and the EU were still negotiating on the EU's imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. After eight rounds of consultations, the situation has still not changed substantially. In early October, the European Union officially voted to impose additional tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, raising the tax rate from the previous 10% to a maximum of 45%. At the same time, different additional tax rates will apply to different car brands. Among them, France is one of the 10 EU countries that support additional tariffs.
This is the strongest resistance faced by Chinese electric vehicles after trying to open the door to the European automobile market. Despite this, at the Paris Auto Show held on October 14 (local time in France), nine Chinese car brands still appeared, including BYD, GAC, Hongqi, Leapmotor, Wenjie, Xpeng, SAIC Maxus, Dongfeng Fengxing, Skyworth, etc.
In the past two years, at major European auto shows including Munich and Frankfurt, Chinese car brands have become more and more popular, and have even suppressed local European brands in their aura.
With such experience, some car brands have begun to feel uneasy about the Paris Auto Show.
Mercedes-Benz absent, Tesla returns
Volkswagen and BMW, which were absent from the 2022 Paris Auto Show, returned to the Paris Auto Show at the same time this time, and Tesla also returned to the Paris Auto Show after five years.
At the BMW booth, the BMW New Generation Concept Car and the BMW New Generation X Concept Car were unveiled together for the first time. It was also announced that the BMW New Generation Model will be put into production globally next year.
This time, the BMW Group's MINI also brought an electric version of the ACEMAN JCW high-performance model. This model will still be produced in China and exported to Europe.
After the debut of Robotaxi, Tesla displayed the electric pickup truck "Cybertruck" and the humanoid robot "Optimus" at the Paris Auto Show. Tesla's Cybercab was not unveiled this time.
At the same time, European automakers, which have been hesitant about whether to electrify their vehicles, are still working hard to demonstrate their progress in electrification.
Renault showcased 7 new cars this time including the new pure electric version of the SUV "Renault 4".
Regarding the current downturn in the European electric vehicle market, Renault CEO Lucade Meo believes that,
"Pure electric vehicles are not the only right answer, but they will certainly become an important part of the future," he said, adding that Renault will further expand its product lineup.
But the reality is that European automakers still have no clear goals on how to promote electric vehicles in the European market. In a changing environment such as policies and markets, European automakers are not sure how much of the pie they can cut into the European electric vehicle market in the future, and whether promoting electrification transformation will affect their current profit structure.
soAt this stage, many local European brands, most like Renault, are "resurrecting" classic models and launching electric versions to carry out electrification transformation.
This time, Japanese brands Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz did not appear at the Paris Auto Show. Compared with Chinese car companies, Japanese and German brands do not seem to be very enthusiastic about European auto shows in the past two years. This is actually a common feature of European auto shows in the past two years: European, American and Japanese car companies have begun to lose interest in European auto shows, which has even led to the permanent suspension of the century-old Geneva Motor Show. The uncertainty of the global auto industry is evident from this.
Determined Chinese car
It can be clearly felt at this year's Paris Auto Show that from making a strong entry into the European market to exploring localization, Chinese car brands have begun to cautiously test one of the most developed car markets in the world.
Despite the difficulties, judging from the popularity of Chinese car brands at the Paris Auto Show, they still showed enough shock to their European counterparts.
At the Paris Auto Show, BYD launched the Hiace 07EV in Europe. As for how this model will be priced, BYD has not announced it due to the current tariff policy.
Xpeng P7+, which has just been unveiled in China, chose to announce its pre-sale price of 209,800 yuan at the Paris Auto Show. The pre-sale price of Xpeng P7+ in the Chinese market was announced at the Paris Auto Show. This kind of launch method was not common in the past when Chinese brands launched at international auto shows.
From the perspective of Xiaopeng Motors, as a new generation of global models, this model represents Xiaopeng's latest technological capabilities in terms of intelligence and cost control. Xiaopeng hopes to take advantage of the international stage of the Paris Auto Show.
At the same time, Xpeng also hopes to use this method of opening pre-sales at international auto shows to allow Xpeng P7+ to carry the sales banner in the Chinese market. Nationalization is not only a proposition for Chinese car companies facing the European market, but also a proposition for the Chinese market.
Stellantis CEO Tavares, who is currently experiencing a dismissal crisis, appeared at Leapmotor's booth at the Paris Auto Show.
Tavares single-handedly promoted Stellantis to acquire a stake in Lingpao and formed a joint venture with Lingpao. The two established Lingpao International with a share ratio of 51:49, controlled by Stellantis.
At this Paris Auto Show, Leapmotor brought a new car for the European market - B10. B10 is the first global model of Leapmotor's B-series. At the Paris Auto Show, Leapmotor founder, chairman and CEO Zhu Jiangming also announced that Leapmotor B10 and the other two products of the B-series will be launched globally next year.
On the Wenjie booth, a Wenjie M9 drove from Chongqing to Paris, which lasted 38 days. The overseas version of Wenjie M9 was named AITO9 and was officially released at the Paris Motor Show. The "helloparis" light language and hard-core smart driving are aimed at the European luxury car market.
GAC Group, which brings its own "Gemini" brands GACMOTOR and AION, said at the Paris Motor Show that it plans to achieve full European market coverage in 2028. At the same time, according to Reuters, Wei Haigang, general manager of international business of GAC Group, said the day before the opening that in order to avoid additional tariffs from the EU, GAC Group is exploring the production of electric vehicles in Europe.
Cautious Chinese car companies are bound to win the European market
For Chinese car companies, global models with the latest generation technology and lower prices, focusing on intelligent capabilities, and proposing European plans are the core of this Paris Auto Show.
Of course, both China and Europe are very cautious rather than being at war with each other.
In the context of the EU's decision to impose additional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Chinese car companies have remained silent on the pricing of new models. French President Macron's appearance at the Paris Motor Show highlighted his emphasis on the local automobile industry. This time he focused on local automobile companies and stayed at the Renault booth for a long time. At the same time, some media on the scene noticed that Macron went to the Xiaopeng booth to take a look and said, "You should come to France to invest. My team will provide help. I hope to come next spring."
At the 2022 Paris Auto Show, Macron was photographed looking sad when he appeared at BYD's booth. During this period, Macron called on Europe to wake up.
What can be deeply felt at this Paris Auto Show is that in the face of the irreversible transformation of the automobile industry, automobile brands in China and Europe are trying to explore continued and in-depth globalization.
Today, with the help of Stellantis’ channel system, Leapmotor is penetrating the European market on a large scale, and more Chinese car companies are beginning to explore the possibility of building factories in Europe. The cooperation between Stellantis and Lingpao has even changed Tavares's attitude towards the EU's imposition of tariffs.
Tavares has always had a hesitant attitude towards the entry of Chinese electric vehicles into Europe.
At the 2022 Paris Auto Show, Tavares once had a very radical attitude towards Chinese car brands and directly stated that European countries should restrict Chinese car brands from entering the market.
This time, Tavares changed his tone, saying that increasing tariffs will not protect the European automobile industry. As Chinese car companies build factories in Europe to avoid tariffs, local European car manufacturers will be forced to close factories.
Compared with the 2022 Paris Auto Show, Tavares's attitude change this time is, on the one hand, based on cooperation with Leapmotor. On the other hand, in the past two years, faced with the unstoppable trend of Chinese car brands entering Europe, Tavares has chosen to go with the trend; at the same time, in his management career, "cost" has always been his focus, which also means that choosing to cooperate with Chinese car companies will be the best entry point to better adapt to market changes and control product costs in the future.
At this Paris Auto Show, BYD Executive Vice President Li Ke mentioned that the tariffs the EU plans to impose on Chinese electric vehicles will cause vehicle prices to rise and discourage buyers. The recent downturn in the European electric vehicle market also confirms this.
Facing market competition with an open attitude and exploring the possibility of cooperation while promoting technological innovation may be the long-term choice for the European automobile industry.