From September 5th to 10th, the IAA Mobility in Munich is set to set new standards. 700,000 visitors are expected – almost twice as many as at the previous motor show in Munich. The number of car manufacturers from China has also doubled compared to 2021. The organizers of the industry meeting (VDA, Association of the German Automotive Industry) speak of the “world’s leading platform for mobility, sustainability and technology” and cheer about “registrations of new companies at a high level”. Other car experts also recognize a turning point – but they see it quite critically.
Most German manufacturers do not have much that is new to offer at the auto show. What is more spectacular is the innovative strength and growth dynamics in the world’s largest market for electric vehicles: after Tesla, Chinese manufacturers are now also pushing their new battery vehicles into Europe. Experts estimate that around 40 million electric cars per year can already be manufactured in the People’s Republic. In addition, China produces around 90 percent of all batteries worldwide and is the leading supplier for German car manufacturers.
Not only relatively young start-ups like Nio, which are still posting high losses, are coming to Europe. In addition to Geely, the parent company of premium brands such as Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Zeekr, the MG brand in Germany, which belongs to the Chinese state-owned company SAIC, is also growing. The technology group BYD is new in Europe and, in the eyes of many Chinese consumers, has long been able to keep up with German suppliers such as VW or BMW.
The company from Shenzhen has been in the car business for less than 20 years. The company was originally a cell manufacturer that grew up with batteries for mobile devices. BYD now also sells its advanced iron phosphate cells to Tesla, Great Wall Motor, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia. In addition, the Chinese have sold five million of their own new energy vehicles (plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles) and pushed VW out of first place in the Chinese registration table. In the medium term, BYD wants to be among the top 5 overall approvals in Europe. Truly a turning point.