Munich Motor Show Review: Chinese car companies compete for show, European brands are high-profile, overseas media are worried
In the century-long history of the automobile industry, the auto show has always been the vane of the development of the industry - it connects users and brands with the role of bridge, users understand the latest trends in the industry through the auto show, and brands rely on the auto show to display technological achievements, the two complement each other. Auto shows in the post-pandemic era have gradually resumed, with the mainland having held two auto shows in Shanghai and Chengdu since the beginning of this year, while overseas auto shows such as the Munich Motor Show have also resumed this year.
Founded in 1897, the Munich International Motor Show (IAA), formerly known as the Frankfurt International Motor Show, is one of the world's first international motor shows and the largest and most influential motor show event in Europe.
In their own home turf, the confident European car brand has always come up with its best technology and products, in front of car companies and fans around the world, to show the pride of the birthplace of the century-old car. But coming to the era of electrification, in 2023, things are different.
Because Chinese car companies are coming.
In the past week, new energy vehicle brands from China have a trend of "anti-customer-oriented", in the IAA exhibition area and even on the city streets of Munich, high-profile display of new cars, new technologies and new concepts from the East, even with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and other European giants will not fall behind, so that global consumers and industry people are eye-opening.
"China shock" is the word we use the most in the report of this Munich Motor Show, and Chang Teacher, who participated in the exhibition far away, has a deep experience.
As usual, "Model Worker" Chang sent an intensive on-site report video to the rear, following the perspective of Mr. Chang Yan, let's review the wonderful moments of Chinese car companies in IAA.
BYD
The most popular Chinese brand on IAA 2023 is probably BYD, and from the video of Chang Teacher's on-site visit, you can see that BYD's booth is "crowded with people", which is comparable to the attention BYD received at the Shanghai and Chengdu Auto Shows.
At this exhibition, BYD exhibited a total of 6 vehicles, namely the Seal, Song PLUS EV Champion Edition, Yuan PLUS (byd atto 3), Dolphin, Han, and Denza D9. On September 5, BYD announced that the Seal will be launched in Europe from now on, and the next model to be launched in Europe will be the Song PLUS EV Champion Edition.
Avita
Another Chinese brand that has made a splash at IAA 2023 is Avita, and the world premiere of the new Avita 12 surprised Chinese and foreign media.
Although it is a sedan model, the exterior design of the Avita 12 has a strong continuity, and the shadow of the Avita 11 is everywhere. The trendy and stylish design and rich and intelligent cockpit system all demonstrate China's top research and development capabilities, making it one of the most important new Chinese brand cars in IAA 2023.
Zero run
Also releasing the new car is Zero, the new car Leap C10 is a global model, but the underlying technology is really from domestic production.
Compared with the debut of new cars, the "use of China's electrification technology to create global products" is more milestone, and the C10 shows the height of China's electrification technology to European counterparts in a more figurative way.
It is worth mentioning that in July this year, there were rumors that an overseas company was interested in reaching a technical cooperation with Leap Auto, but there is still no official news. Combined with the announcement of global models by Leapmotor at the IAA, I believe that this rumor is not unfounded, and the symbolism of the C10 has become more intriguing.
The stars are shining
According to third-party data, the total number of Chinese car companies participating in IAA 2023 reached 50, such as Xpeng with G9, P7i two models to participate in the exhibition, MG to Munich MG Cyberster, Gaohe, Extreme Krypton, NIO and other brands also appeared at IAA 2023.
In addition, not only Chinese companies exhibiting at the exhibition, but also supply chain companies that we are proud of. For example, Hesai Technology, CATL, Horizon, Jingjin Electric and Vimax New Energy have representatives of enterprises from upstream to downstream technology industry chain.
The grandeur of the guests in the East was somewhat unexpected, and the overseas media could not help but sigh: It's now "become the China show" (now it has become the Chinese auto show).
The famous American media "Fortune" magazine published an article entitled "Europe's biggest car show was long the stomping ground of German brands — but it's now 'become the China show" on its web page. lamented that Chinese car companies are "anti-customer-oriented" at the Munich Motor Show.
The article expresses deep concern about the German and European automotive industry – "Chinese carmakers are descending on Europe's premier car show this week in such large numbers, the German media is reaching a state of near existential (This week, Chinese automakers flooded Europe's top auto shows, and the German media was in a state of existential anxiety.) ）
又比如这一句，「If China can use this advantage to build cars like the BYD Seal that are seen as both premium and affordable,then there is no competitive edge left for the rest of the industry save to rely on brand heritage.」
(If China can use that advantage to build a high-end and affordable car like BYD's Seal, it will have no competitive advantage other than relying on brand heritage.) ）
If the "cold-eyed" American media can also analyze the rise of China's auto industry relatively neutrally, then the local European media really feels threatened this time. For example, an opinion piece from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) pointed out that the IAA has become a stage for Tesla and Chinese car companies to dance.
The article quotes Ferdinand Ferdinand, an industry analyst at the German Automotive Research Center. Dudenhofer's view is that the IAA is the starting point for Chinese automakers to launch an offensive into the European market.
The article also used Mercedes-Benz CEO Conlinson to express the widespread concern of European automakers, "it was necessary for European firms to stay competitive in the face of stiff competition". (European companies need to remain competitive in the face of fierce competition)
For specific products, it has to be said that the purpose of Chinese car companies to let the world realize their product strength with the help of IAA is obviously achieved, overseas media Today's Esquire praised NIO's ET7 by name, believing that this is a Chinese tram masterpiece with "excellent mileage" and "leading autonomous driving ability". （「NIO,for example,displayed its ET7 luxury sedan,which boasts an exceptional range and cutting-edge autonomous driving capabilities.」）
Speaking of which, let's hear what Deutsche Welle (DW) has to say.
It seems that some Deutsche Welle has published a commentary article titled "IAA auto show welcomes new contenders to EV market race".
Commenting on BYD, Deutsche Welle described it this way: "Even though the exhibition space of VW's Chinese rival BYD isn't much bigger, the Chinese firm and its compatriots will have much better cars to show for, industry analysts (Industry analysts pointed out that although BYD's showroom area is comparable to that of German Volkswagen, BYD and Chinese car companies exhibited better products) The argument supports that BYD has surpassed Volkswagen in 2022 and become the sales champion in the Chinese market.
The description is even more interesting when referring to BYD's seals, with Deutsche Welle saying, "In Munich, Shu stunned auto analysts by announcing a price tag of less than € 45,000 for its SEAL compact executive fastback sedan, a price that may cause VW executives." to break out in sweat." (BYD's head of Europe, Shu Youxing, announced that the starting price of BYD seals is less than 45,000 euros, which shocked the automotive analysts on the scene and even made Volkswagen's executives "sweat")
Finally, after browsing several foreign media analysis articles on the performance of Chinese car companies in the IAA, I realized that foreign media are very clear about what the leading advantages of China's new energy vehicle industry are.
It is a sense of science and technology, it is intelligent, but more importantly, it is a strong industrial chain. Relying on the advantages of the dominant industrial chain, China's new energy vehicles can not only do better, but also do cheaper, and the quality has also improved by leaps compared with fuel vehicles in the past.
In the face of such a situation, have some overseas media proposed a "solution"?
At least I haven't seen it yet. The truth may be that they simply do not know how European car companies will defend their existing achievements in the face of China's powerful offensive of new energy vehicles, and it is likely that they are tired of defending alone.
Although the performance of Chinese new energy vehicle companies in the IAA has attracted the attention of the world, it does not mean that overseas car companies do not have any bright spots.
Following the lens of Mr. Chang, we also saw Mercedes-Benz's new concept car CLA Class Concept, saw the concept car "Neue Klasse" that heralded BMW's future, and the self-revolution of Volkswagen GTI - ID.GTI.
Benz
The CLA Class Concept is of course most impressive about its sleek, dynamic vehicle lines, which are also considered to be the most beautiful contenders in the entire IAA 2023.
In addition, the 750km range, the power consumption as low as 12kWh per 100km, and the hardware prepared for L3 level assisted driving also make the Mercedes-Benz CLA Class Concept look dazzling.
In the future, most of the technology on this concept car will be mass-produced, such a Mercedes-Benz pure electric car, will you still feel that it is not competitive? On the contrary, I think it will bring some competitive pressure to China's new energy vehicle brands.
Bmw
It is also worth looking forward to BMW's "Neue Klasse", which literally translates to the meaning of "new generation", this car will directly become the blueprint of pure electric models in the future, with the basic prototype of the 2025 mass production car.
In terms of power, based on the sixth-generation BMW eDrive electric drive technology, BMW's new-generation concept car can be charged 30% faster, cruising range increased by 30%, and vehicle efficiency increased by 25%.
But before you see the power of data, you'll be captivated by its design. In addition to the ultimate sense of science fiction and future style in the exterior design, the thinking on human-computer interaction and intelligent interaction in the cabin is also extremely forward-looking.
If the current Chinese new energy vehicle is to achieve the existing framework to the extreme, then the BMW new generation concept car opens up a new track, giving a different answer to the proposition of how to develop the car in the future.
Volkswagen
There is also ID.GTI, which is reborn by relying on the electrification platform, which expresses from another perspective how the Volkswagen Group retains its sports genes while electrifying and brings a new experience to consumers who love driving.
tesla
Finally, of course, the newly debuted Model 3 refreshed version, we often struggled to get on the car and experience the interior, such as the elimination of any physical gear mechanism design, but also have to admit that it is very advanced.
The era of diversity
What touches me the most is that in fact, on the proposition of electrification and new energy vehicles, global automobile companies are using their own understanding and different perspectives to make annotations, and what I see is a wonderful industry variety and an industry tomorrow full of expectations.
There have been some arguments for many years that Chinese car companies' understanding of new energy has surpassed the industry and the world, and there seems to be some people in their words.
But through a world-class exhibition like IAA 2023, I think it can give us a better understanding of our own technical level and development level, and also let us see what other fantastic ideas can make new energy vehicles more interesting and attractive.
Everyone has different opinions and ideas, and such a new energy era is a good era. This era can also be led by Chinese new energy vehicle companies.