Get Ready for the Chinese Invasion.....

The Chinese arrived in style at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The effort made by some of the companies was impressive. Before looking at their offerings let’s just look at their home market.

PHEV are plug plug in hybrids ( electric but also with a conventional engine ) a BEV is a batter electric vehicle which is ALL electric.

As you can see they sold 1256000 electric in 2018 which accounted for 4.2% of the total Chinese automotive car sales markets. As a comparison Norway was showing off with 49%, France 2.11, Germany 1.9%, UK 2.43%, USA 2.1%. So, you can see there’s a long way to go and a lot of opportunities.

One fact stands out for the Chinese. The large numbers of sales create opportunities for product development, development into areas of the global market where they can sell more premium product. They also have opportunities because as newbies into the European and American markets they don’t come with baggage. No large large workforce or distribution overheads and no vast dealer networks to maintain. A clean sheet in fact.

So without further ado let’s have a quick look at the first of these players...

AIWAYS. 

They drove, yes drove two of their all electric U5 Models over from China to Frankfurt. The 14,231km (8,843 mile ) commute was a fair but we don’t really know much about the background story. I saw the cars at a pre-show function in Frankfurt. They looked OK, if a bit uninspiring. They say they will launch in Europe early in 2020.

The all electric AIWAYS U5….. to introduce them in Frankfurt, they drove they from China. Quite a commute !

BYTON

At the Show in Frankfurt BYTON was probably the most attended Chinese stand probably because of the high hopes from a company with a European owner based in China and a mere €1.4 billion investment programme.

I visited the stand and in fact had a meeting with a Byton representative who was a European lucky enough to swing a job as boss of their design facility in California. I expressed my concern about the huge 48 inch curved display and how distracting it was for drivers. He didn’t agree and thought it much more important to have family photographs on the screen to make you ‘feel happy and at home’...what a load of rubbish. Anyway, the car looked OK, nothing special and they want to sell it in Europe and North America late 2020 or early ‘21.

On the outside, it's another battery-electric crossover in a field now awash in such vehicles, with a big battery and decent range, albeit from a startup manufacturer. But before this thing sees a roadway, regulators are going to need to have a chat about what constitutes distracted driving.

A 48-inch curved display — yep, you read that right — doesn't just dominate the instrument panel, it IS the instrument panel. And from the front seat, it's almost as big as the windshield itself. Who wants to watch traffic when you can watch TV? No one, except drivers who want to continue living. https://www.byton.com/

The interior of the new M-Byte Byton…… wonderful or stupid… I know what I think !

Polestar

Now this is a completely different story……

Launched in 2017 and is being promoted as a premium electric performance car brand owned by the huge Chinese Geely Corporation who also happen to own Volvo Cars. Polestar, manufactured in a new factory in China is Chinese but is being cleverly marketed as if it were a European brand, very Volvo-esque. They will initially make two models Polestar 1, a high performance saloon. Polestar 2, a premium saloon. Cars will be in the market in 2020. They really will be serious players….Here are some pictures. https://www.polestar.com/

WEY

….is a luxury brand owned by the huge Great Wall Motor Company. They are dipping their chopsticks in the European Market but say they will be here in force in two years time. I think they will be a quite an important player if they decide to put the effort and budget behind the venture. https://en.wey.com/

NIO

Not in Frankfurt but still a company that has to be considered …NIO see themselves very much as a lifestyle company. Presently they have their HQ and Production in China with a small range of cars already being sold in that market. Their funding has been robust to-date but shown signs of a serious wobble recently when their sales and investor confidence tumbled. They have offices in Europe in London and Munich (Europe HQ) plus a large commitment in the US. Anyway, keep your eyes open for these guys. As you see below they are also committed to Formula E. https://www.nio.com/en_DE?noredirect=

Finally, we introduce another member of the Volvo, Polestar gang owned by Chinese conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. …who obviously like eating herring because their investments in Europe are based in Sweden.

LYNK & CO

Proposed as a lifestyle brand ( yet another saying that…yawn yawn ) the brand has launched models in China and will soon arrive in Europe. I don’t really understand why Mr Geely and his mates invest in two new brands, Polestar & LYNK & CO that seem compliment each other and would work as one entity. Anyway, LYNK & CO are on their way. I must say I really like a lot of what their ex Volvo boss Alain Visser is saying about distribution and marketing…..more later !

And Finally….

There are more than 500 registered electric car manufacturers based in or part based in China, so the above is only a small snapshot of the marketplace. The Chinese Market is so huge and diverse that all the Chinese manufacturers need a buoyant home (Chinese) automotive market to help them on their mission to conquer the global market. They look at the non - Chinese markets as a source of higher per unit profitability and somewhere that has to be a good commercial bet for the future. The European and American manufacturers better keep one good eye on the rear view mirror !!