Peeping into the Chinese market, will enter China next year Overseas "new forces" Fisker and Lucid want to be Tesla's "killers"
Cai Lian News Agency on June 12 (Reporter Liu Yang) Entering the Chinese market, new overseas car manufacturing forces are eager to try. Fisco Automotive (NYSE: FSR) today announced that it plans to open its first delivery center in China in 2023 and begin deliveries of its electric SUV "Fisker Ocean" in the first quarter of 2024.
"Following the start of European deliveries on June 23 and the first vehicle deliveries to customers in the United States, we are excited to plan to enter the Chinese market later this year." Henrik Fisker, founder, chairman and CEO of Fisco, said that China is expected to become an important growth market for electric vehicles in the future, believing that Fisco Automotive will be very attractive, and has previously set up an office in China and intends to open a delivery experience center this year. "I believe we can start production in China as early as next year, and we may increase Fisco's marine production capacity by 75,000 vehicles per year."
For Henrik Fisko's expression of "putting into production in China", the CaiLian News Agency reporter tried to ask Fisker for more details, but as of press time, the other party has not responded.
Fisker made the above statement on June 10, local time in the United States, and at the same time disclosed that the company's executives visited Lingang Group on June 7 and participated in a symposium. For Shanghai Lingang area, Fisker said that as a high-level opening demonstration area, Lingang has made remarkable achievements in the automotive industry, and has formed an automotive industry ecosystem integrating manufacturing, research and development, trade, testing and finance, Fisker hopes to build a more efficient supply chain system with Lingang Group, and further strengthen cooperation in logistics and warehousing, import and export customs declaration, and future capacity planning and upgrading.
As the U.S. market with the longest range for an all-electric SUV under $200,000, the Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV comes in three versions, the Extreme, Ultra and Sport, and can reach up to 360 miles (about 580 kilometers). Among them, Fisker Ocean Extreme has received a certificate of conformity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an executive order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), meaning the model is licensed for sale and delivery in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Coincidentally, almost at the same time that Fisker clearly will enter the Chinese market, Lucid, another new American car manufacturing company, also expressed similar intentions. On June 7, Zhu Jiang, former vice president of Jidu Automobile, who had joined Lucid, revealed on social media that Lucid began preparations to enter the Chinese market.
In 2016, Lucid, once regarded as Tesla's biggest competitor, officially entered the new energy automobile industry, and released its first model, Lucid Air, at the end of that year. At the end of 2021, Lucid began to deliver its first production model, Lucid Air, with comprehensive parameter configuration and price positioning directly benchmarked against Tesla Model S. According to Lucid's product plan, Lucid, which is positioned as a high-end luxury electric vehicle, plans to launch seven models on three platforms in the Chinese market. One of them is positioned similar to Tesla Model 3, and after domestic production, the price is expected to be about 200,000 yuan.
"In the middle of the next decade, Lucid plans to build a factory in China." As early as November 2021, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said in an interview. However, due to funding issues and other issues, the above plan has not yet been implemented. At the end of last year, Lucid began hiring in China in areas such as public policy, logistics operations, procurement and supply chain. Lucid focuses on localization services, charging infrastructure layout and supply chain management in the Chinese market, and most of the positions require proficiency in Chinese and English or two years or more of work experience in Chinese companies. Recruitment information shows that Lucid's foothold will be the same as Tesla's, in Shanghai.
"In the face of Tesla's dominance in the US electric vehicle market, it is not unusual for new overseas car-making forces to set their sights on China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market." In the eyes of industry insiders, whether Fisker or Lucid, who want to enter the Chinese market, can open up a new path in the competitive market environment will become the focus of the industry.
According to the data, in May, domestic production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 713,000 units and 717,000 units, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 53% and 60.2%, with a market share of 30.1%. In the first five months, China's NEV production and sales totaled 3.005 million units and 2.94 million units, up 45.1% and 46.8% y/y, respectively, and its market share reached 27.7%. Among them, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory delivered more than 77,000 vehicles in May, a year-on-year increase of 142%.
"It is not easy for new American forces such as Fisker and Lucid to enter the Chinese market." The aforementioned insiders pointed out that although Tesla has achieved great success in the Chinese market in recent years, the business logic behind it has also provided a reference sample for various new forces in car manufacturing, but today's Chinese auto market has shown a different pattern than when Tesla first entered, many Chinese independent brands have risen, and the new forces of American car manufacturing want to compete for a place in the Chinese market at this time, and the opportunity is very small. "In China, the range of about 200,000 is the main consumer market, but also the most competitive field, the product does not have enough strength, I am afraid it is difficult to get a piece of it, let alone the 'new face' Fisker, Lucid, the pressure will only double."
(Cai Lian News Agency reporter Liu Yang)