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author: du yuxin

in the past two days, chinese cars have become popular in europe again, especially in germany, the birthplace of cars.

at the frankfurt auto parts show currently being held at the frankfurt exhibition center in germany, nearly 900 chinese auto parts suppliers and a large electric vehicle alliance consisting of chinese automakers such as geely, byd, avita, hongqi, gac, seres, and jac are flexing their muscles on the german doorstep.

although the frankfurt motor show (iaa), which has been held continuously for nearly 70 years, has come to an end in 2020, this time china has taken over. the china council for the promotion of international trade's automotive industry branch, in conjunction with local authorities, hosted the frankfurt electric vehicle expo (abbreviated as: frankfurt electric vehicle expo). this is also the first time that my country has participated in hosting a large-scale auto show abroad.

from the frankfurt motor show dominated by european automakers to the frankfurt electric car show dominated by chinese automakers, this is the transition to a new automotive era. chinese cars are using their advantages in electrification to launch a comprehensive counterattack against european automotive powers.

although there is national power as a pusher, it is not easy for chinese automakers to advance into the european market. first of all, the tariff barrier is the most direct and urgent problem facing chinese automakers.european commissiontemporary tariffs on chinese electric vehicles have officially been implemented, with byd, geely, saic and other automakers subject to additional tariffs ranging from 17.4% to 37.6%.

according to the eu countries, they hope that chinese automobile factories will be set up locally, the industrial chain will be introduced, and employment and taxation issues will be solved, while also driving the local automobile industry to achieve the transformation from fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles.

there are often many deviations between reality and logic. there may be variables in the entry of chinese cars into europe, and the game is still going on. according to people familiar with the matter, china hopes that chinese automakers with overseas factories will use the ckd method to enter overseas markets and keep key electrification technologies in china.

chinese automakers are not unfamiliar with frankfurt, especially the frankfurt motor show, which is known as the "olympic games of the world automotive industry". its charm actually comes from the land where it stands - the birthplace of modern cars and the hometown of the world's top automakers. for this reason, even though the straight-line distance between germany and china is nearly 8,000 kilometers, it cannot stop the enthusiasm and determination of chinese automakers to rush thousands of miles.

let’s go back to 20 years ago in 2005. at that time, chinese car companies were still imitating and learning from german car companies, and many people could not imagine selling cars to foreigners. geely’s li shufu broke into the german territory with five models including freedom cruiser, pride, and leopard. he also invited a peking opera troupe from zhejiang to perform the opening show, showing off the chinese style in frankfurt.

at that time, it was a novelty for a chinese automaker to appear in frankfurt for the first time, and foreigners thought so too. the local media even reported on geely with the title "china is coming", which seemed to imply that geely was coming.

later, chinese car companies appeared in frankfurt and had more and more opportunities to appear at european auto shows.

brilliance in 2007, yongyuan in 2009, changan in 2011 and 2013, andcheryand great wall wey, in 2019red flag, great wall and the new force byton. even though chinese car companies cannot face european competitors directly, a number of chinese car companies are also trying to learn and challenge, and stand on the same stage with german car brands and the automotive industry.

in recent years, with many overseas automakers missing major european international auto shows, chinese automakers have become the main players. after the 2021 frankfurt motor show moved to munich, more and more chinese faces have appeared at major european auto shows. by 2023, nearly 10 chinese brands will appear, accounting for almost one-third of the passenger car brands at the entire auto show, creating waves of chinese power on the european continent.

including this year's frankfurt electric car show, the new products and technologies for electric vehicles brought by chinese automakers and chinese brands have shocked the german cars that are lagging behind in the electrification and intelligent race.

take geely, for example, which once led the chinese car industry to its first appearance in frankfurt and was the only one to hold a press conference at this year's frankfurt electric car show. its geely, lynk & co, and zeekr brands worked together to bring a number of heavyweight models such as lynk & co z10, geely galaxy e5 and e8, zeekr mix, zeekr x, zeekr 001, and also displayed the latest technologies such as the aegis dagger battery, the second-generation brics battery, and the 11-in-1 electric drive.

obviously, compared with geely 20 years ago, the geely that has now made in-depth layout in the globalization track is no longer the same. the offensive lineup and influence of chinese automakers, including their self-confidence in front of european automakers, have made a qualitative leap.

of course, in the eyes of overseas parties and local media, the progress of chinese cars has also been seen and remembered. the organizers of the exhibition said that the participation of chinese electric vehicles in frankfurt will help build trust in the professional field.

indeed, on the one hand, china is the world's largest automobile market, and on the other hand, china's electrification and intelligentization process leads the global automobile industry. it is indeed difficult for senior executives of multinational automobile companies who have lived in europe and the united states for a long time to truly feel this rapid leap.

so when they see such competitive chinese products landing on their land, they must have mixed feelings. some stood in front of the chinese car booth, staring and thinking, some concentrated on studying the interior and exterior design and layout, and some leaned over the floor to take a look at the chassis structure of these products. they even couldn't believe that chinese cars can now be big, good and cheap.

faced with this phenomenon, local newspapers bluntly stated that germany's competitiveness as a manufacturing center has further declined, and the appearance of chinese car companies has also sounded the alarm for german brands.

the spanish newspaper el economista reported that the collective attendance of chinese automakers at the frankfurt motor show is indeed worthy of attention. germany, the largest economy in the eu, is currently experiencing a turbulent period, and volkswagen is planning to close its factories in germany. germany was once an industrial powerhouse, but is now experiencing a long period of manufacturing downturn. the development of chinese automakers in germany is likely to promote further cooperation between the two countries in the automotive field.

data from consulting firms show that in the first seven months of this year, chinese automakers' passenger car market share in europe rose to 17% from 12% in the same period last year. during the same period, china's automobile exports also hit a new high. among them, the top three markets for china's new energy vehicle exports are brazil, belgium and the united kingdom.

this sends a very strong signal: european users are becoming more and more accepting of chinese electric vehicle brands and products.

in addition to oems, the large presence of chinese suppliers (almost twice the number of participating german suppliers) highlights their growing role in the global supply chain.

in fact, chinese cars are not just appearing on the auto show stage. today, they are launching a full-scale counterattack on the european continent.

just before the auto show, geely's fifth global test base, the european test base, was officially unveiled in frankfurt, and it also reached a strategic cooperation with applus+idiada, a well-known european automotive engineering, testing and certification service provider. yang xueliang, senior vice president of geely auto group, said: "even if some people in europe oppose us, we will never be an enemy of the european market. only by working together can the automotive industry become stronger."

entering europe is actually the long-cherished wish of many chinese auto companies with dreams and ambitions. even if it is very difficult, they must try. on the one hand, it is a huge market with a volume of over 10 million vehicles per year, and on the other hand, it is the only way for chinese automobiles to go from big to strong. the european market, especially the developed market in western europe, has special significance for the globalization of chinese automobiles, because to achieve true globalization, it is necessary to go through the baptism of mature markets.

in the past two years, chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers have launched more than a dozen self-branded models in at least 16 european countries, including byd, saic mg, polestar, lynk & co, ora, weilai, xiaopeng, etc. however, seeing the bad situation, the local authorities immediately considered establishing trade barriers against chinese cars and began to impose tariffs on chinese cars to prevent chinese electric vehicles from entering the market.

the eu's concerns are reasonable from its own perspective. a study released by pricewaterhousecoopers warned that a focus on cost-effectiveness and reduced access to capital are making it harder for german auto parts suppliers to invest in innovative technologies. in contrast, chinese companies are more likely to invest in improving batteries and software to win market share from german and japanese competitors.

however, for the globalization of trade and the friendly cooperation between china and europe, the tariff policy seems so inappropriate, which is why countries from germany, spain to sweden and norway are competing to call on the eu to abandon sanctions on chinese electric vehicles. in particular, german car companies, which are extremely dependent on the chinese market, were the first to stand up and oppose the eu's approach.

of course, political games do require sacrificing the economy to a certain extent. but the reason why the game is called a game is that the eu wants to gain more benefits in china's electric vehicle field.

therefore, many eu countries have extended an olive branch to china, suggesting that chinese automakers conduct local production in europe, which can avoid trade tariffs that restrict imports, and can also drive the transformation of local industries and employment and tax revenue to a certain extent. according to the globalization ideas of other multinational auto companies, this is indeed a necessary path to become bigger and stronger in overseas markets.

byd, for example, is planning to build a $1 billion factory in turkey with an expected annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and 5,000 employees, which will improve byd's access to the european union as turkey has a customs union agreement with the eu and turkey imposed a 40% tariff on cars imported from china in june.

in brazil, byd and great wall motors have made it clear that they aim to increase the share of locally produced and locally sourced parts in the coming years, with the aim of meeting a local content requirement of around 50% for products that can be exported duty-free to other latin american countries under their trade agreement with brazil.

in spain, chery automobile, which is currently in full swing in the overseas market, will cooperate with a local company to open a former nissan motor company factory in barcelona to implement localized production. according to chery, the spanish factory will assemble cars using the ckd method.

at the frankfurt electric vehicle show, geely also announced that it is looking for a factory site in europe, but has not yet fully committed to building a production base there. however, because volvo, levc and other companies under geely holding have already been deeply involved in the european market, geely's entry into europe is relatively easier than other car brands. lynk & co, a joint venture between geely and volvo, will also launch its first chinese-made electric car in europe next month. lynk & co said it does not intend to pass on the upcoming car tariff costs to consumers.

of course, barriers and games will continue. it is not only the eu that is concerned about chinese automakers, but china also has concerns in this regard. not long ago, relevant ministries held an internal meeting. china is also worried that the trend of chinese automakers collectively going overseas will have a blow to the development achievements of china's automobile industry in the competition. for example, once the situation changes, the investment may also go down the drain, especially after a large amount of investment has entered europe. in fact, tesla in the united states has also experienced many major crises on the road to entering the eu.

after all, the countries that invite chinese automakers to build factories are usually the ones that have implemented or are considering implementing trade barriers against chinese cars. china also suggested that manufacturers should be more vigilant, should not blindly follow the trend, and should not completely believe in such investment calls from foreign governments. it even suggested that automakers should keep advanced electric vehicle technology in china.

although some industry research institutions believe that the window period for chinese cars to enter europe is shortening, and that they should seize the opportunity and accelerate their layout by taking advantage of the development of the new energy industry, ambitions are mixed with games and more uncontrollable factors, which means that the road to chinese cars entering europe will not be as smooth as imagined.