SHANGHAI — Chinese and global automakers plan to unveil more than a dozen new electric SUVs, sedans and muscle cars this week at the auto show. Shanghai Auto Showtheir first large-scale sales event in four years in a market that has become a studio developing electricity, self-driving cars and other technology.
Automakers are competing to roll Faster, more luxurious, more features tram in technology’s largest, most crowded market. The ruling Communist Party has invested billions of dollars in subsidies to buy a leadership position in an emerging industry. Long-standing global brands face stiff competition from Chinese rivals.
For the first time since 2019, flying executives from the US, Europe and Japan for the world’s largest company car show after anti-virus restrictions blocking most travel into China were lifted in December. Auto shows in the industry’s largest market are still going on during the pandemic, but in smaller scale. Global brands are represented by the staff of their China operations.
Motorists in the world’s largest auto market bought 5.4 million all-electric vehicles last year, or about two-thirds of the global total of 8 million vehicles, plus 1.5 million vehicles. petrol-electric hybrid. That’s more than a quarter of the total car sales 23.6 million. Sales of electric vehicles are forecast to increase by 30% this year.
“Consumers are no longer interested in gasoline-powered cars. That’s the biggest challenge for foreign brands when it comes to competing in China,” said industry analyst John Zeng of LMC Automotive. “They will have to show off their best electric vehicles.”
Beijing is easing government support and shifting the burden to automakers by requiring them to earn credits for electric vehicle sales. Manufacturers are pouring billions of dollars into developing models that can compete on price and features without subsidies. Many are forming partnerships to share rising costs.
Shanghai car 2023 fills the Shanghai cave exhibition center, a 1.5 million square meter (16 million square foot) subcontinent of one of the largest buildings in the world.
volkswagen AG, the country’s best-selling brand, said it plans to display 28 models, half of which are electric. VW says it will launch the ID.7 limousine, which promises 700 kilometers (435 miles) on a single charge.
China’s BYD Auto, which is competing with Tesla Inc. for the title of the world’s best-selling electric car maker, said it will show off the U9 for the first time. supercar from its luxury brand Yangwang. The automaker says the U9, with a list price of 1 million yuan ($145,000), can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (60 mph) in two seconds with a stiff neck.
China’s auto sales peaked in 2017 at 24.7 million units but fell to 20.2 million units in 2020 after dealerships closed as part of efforts to contain COVID- 19. They are recovering but have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The ruling party’s support for electric vehicle development is part of a plan to gain global wealth and influence by turning China into a nation that generates profitable technologies.
That campaign has strained relations with Washington and other trading partners, which are cutting off access to advanced processing chips used by smartphone makers. Electric Car and other high-tech products. Chinese foundries can supply low-end chips used in many cars, but not processors for artificial intelligence and other advanced functions.
Sales of petrol-electric hybrids and pure electric vehicles rose 26.2 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2023 to 1.6 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Pure electric vehicle sales increased 14.4% to 1.2 million while hybrid vehicles increased 75.1% to 433,000.
Tesla and several other brands slashed prices by 5% to 15% starting January after sales growth slowed, although still at a premium compared to the decline in the US and European markets. . That prompted warnings that squeezing an industry with dozens of fledgling brands could force smaller automakers to merge or go out of business.
China, along with the US, is at the forefront of developing self-driving taxis and truck.
Baidu Inc., best known as a search engine operator, is most prominent among developers including Pony.ai. Geely The group, owner of Volvo Cars, Lotus and Polestar, has announced plans to link satellites self-driving car. Network equipment maker Huawei Technologies Ltd. are working on self-driving industrial and mining vehicles.
Baidu and Pony.ai have received China’s first license to provide self-driving ride-hailing in Beijing with a safe driver on board to take over in case of emergency in 2022. out 18 months after Alphabet Inc. road started a driverless ride-hailing service in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We see very strong support from the government,” said Jason Low of Canalys.
At the auto show, Chinese brand Aito plans to show off new products M5 SUV with self-driving technology developed in an alliance with Huawei Technologies Ltd. The telecom equipment maker is expanding into the automotive and other industries after US sanctions imposed in a feud with Beijing over technology crushed its electricity business. Huawei smartphones.
The Chinese market is so large that even the brands whose strongest selling point is roaring, gasoline-powered engines are using electricity.
BMW AG says its entire lineup at Auto Shanghai will be electrified. The German luxury sports brand says it will unveil two new models, the i7 M70L and XM Red label and first display of M760Le in China.
Italy’s Maserati, a unit of Stellantis known for using Ferrari’s high-performance engines, plans to launch its first electric SUV and says its electric sports car will be on the way. in Asia.
Chinese premium EV brand NIO Inc., which competes with Tesla in the premium segment of the market, plans to show off its latest SUV, the ES6. It promises a range of 610 kilometers (380 miles) on a single charge.
Mercedes Benz plans to launch an electric SUV under the luxury Maybach brand and two SUVs. The company also has EV joint ventures with BYD Auto and Geely Group.
Toyota says it plans to launch two new models in its bZ zero-emissions lineup. Nissan plans to display Max-Out electric convertible car car model. Honda is launching a new prototype for its China-focused e:N electric car brand.
LMC’s Zeng said that despite such investments, Western and Japanese brands need to be more active in developing electric vehicles to keep up with China’s rapid development. He said many people take too long to create models abroad without Chinese input.
“The model they bring to China is three or four years behind Chinese models in terms of driving range and equipment,” said Zeng. “They have to learn how to design and test cars in China for China.”
