The electric car market is hotting up here and China is going to have a big say sooner rather than later.
Intense competition in the Chinese electric vehicle market, combined with a slowing economic growth, has resulted in a price war in its massive domestic market.
This is driving a change in production planning an overflow of suitable car stocks at a faster rate into European markets. In addition to being the largest market globally for new cars, China will also soon overtake Japan as the world’s biggest exporter of cars - it only recently passed Germany in that order.
There are the established brands, such as Volkswagen Group (VW, Audi, Skoda, Cupra, and others including Porsche; the Korean giants, Hyundai and Kia; Renault and Nissan; Mercedes-Benz; BMW; Stellantis (Peugeot, Opel, Citroen, FIAT, Jeep ); Hyundai-Kia, and Ford. Then there is the more recent all-electric success story that is Tesla.
Part of the massive change for the established brands will be thinking about the millions of conservative buyers of new cars and bringing them along. A case in point is Volkswagen’s planned introduction of the new ID.7. It is its first all-electric saloon car, and it will be available with a promised range of up to 700 kilometres A practical estate version will also follow.
However, there is much more to come with new Chinese brands entering the already highly competitive market every quarter. The number already selling vehicles in Ireland and the UK is set to go from a trickle to a flood.
Early arrivals include MG (Frank Keane Holdings ) and Maxus (Harris Group ), with recent arrivals Great Wall Motor’s Ora (International Motors Group ) and BYD – Build Your Dreams (Motor Distributors ).
BYD could be the standard-bearer to which all could end up being compared. Its Atto 3 SUV has just been launched here, with its second model, a C-segment hatchback, Dolphin, here in September. And, watch out for the stunning Seal model arriving in the autumn.
We have also already seen the influence of Geely Auto Group, owner of Volvo, and through that avenue, creating Swedish-based Polestar as well as Lynk and Co. They also own Lotus Group, Proton, LEVC (London Black Taxis and vans ), and ZEEKR, a new electric premium electric brand. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz and the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group formed a joint venture for the smart brand.
Another major manufacturer, the Chery Group, will debut here in the first quarter next year with its futuristic export brand – called Omoda. Its website features an impressive futuristic fastback crossover. In fact, all Omoda models are SUVs. The launch mid-size model will be available with a choice of petrol (1.5 litre ) or all-electric. A large SUV will then be added in right-hand drive at the end of next year, with a compact SUV in 2025. Both will be all-electric only.
Chery claims to be China’s largest car manufacturer and its biggest exporter too. It already exports Omoda cars to South America and South Africa. The plan is to sell through dealerships, but our sources say customers will have the option of buying online or via the dealership.
Others on the horizon include Nio, a Chinese brand that favours battery-swapping stations for its vehicles as an alternative to conventional charging stations.
The next 18 months is going to see many electric vehicle propositions arriving from China and elsewhere for Irish customers. Watch this space.
