Sébastien Le Belzic (correspondent in China), edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credit: Hector RETAMAL / AFP
The Shanghai Auto Show, the largest in Asia, opens on Thursday. An event that gives pride of place to 100% electric vehicles. The various manufacturers plan to unveil new models there, in a country that has become the largest producer and consumer of new energy vehicles.
It is a real event in China. The Shanghai Auto Show, the largest in Asia, opens on Thursday. It is the first edition to be held in the country since the health crisis and the reopening of borders, and it promises to attract visitors as China is the world’s largest automotive market. Global and Chinese automakers plan to unveil around 100 new models, mostly electric vehicles.
In total, two-thirds of the new cars presented in Shanghai are 100% electric vehicles. And in this niche, China has taken quite a head start. In 2022, China actually sold 5.5 million new energy vehicles, two-thirds of the global total.
Difficult for foreign brands to find a place
It is also BYD (Build Your Dreams, or ‘Build your dreams’ in French editor’s note), a Chinese brand, which is in the lead: it sells twice as many cars as Tesla in China. In the pack are also 120 other Chinese brands, all specializing in electric cars. “China is the largest producer and consumer of battery-powered vehicles, as well as the largest exporter,” said Li Hui, analyst of the Chinese automotive sector, at the microphone of Europe 1. “China plays a leading role in the development of the global automotive industry.”
So, it’s not easy for foreign brands to make a name for themselves. Sales of BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes have shrunk by 21% since the start of 2023. Volkswagen hopes to regain the advantage and announces that it is investing 1 billion euros in an electric vehicle development center in China.