As a high-profile automotive event in Europe and around the world, the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024 was recently held at Goodwood Manor in West Sussex, United Kingdom. Since its inception in 1993, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has grown from strength to strength and has grown into a world-class automotive extravaganza for classic cars, racing cars, supercars, electric cars and more, attracting car enthusiasts from all over the world.
The hill climb is the highlight of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and it's not just a time trial, it's more about showing the spectators the unique charm of racing. There are no restrictions on the type, horsepower and age of the car, from Formula 1 cars to supercars, from classic cars to concept cars. Compared to traditional auto shows or car events, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is not only a feast of "fast and furious", but also a carnival of automotive history and culture.
Also eye-catching is the Goodwood Memorial Sculpture, which is generally created with the main sponsor of the festival and varies from year to year. As a global event of automotive culture, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has always been favored by world-renowned car brands. Mercedes-Benz 100, Rolls-Royce 100, Land Rover 60, Audi 100, Alfa · Romeo 100, BMW 100, Porsche 75...... At previous editions of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, sculptures of the brand's most important anniversaries have been featured on the lawn in front of Goodwood Manor.
This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed is a bit different, and while internationally renowned brands such as Ferrari, Ast·on Martin, Porsche, Maserati and others are present at the Festival of Speed as usual, Chinese brands seem to be getting more attention. Among them, SAIC MG (MG) "took over" Porsche and became the main sponsor of the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and FAW Hongqi also became an official partner. In addition, BYD, Chery, Geely Group, Xpeng Motors and many other Chinese car companies all came.
MG and Red Flag "hold hands" with Goodwood
As a representative of the United Kingdom automotive industry, the MG brand's return as the main sponsor of the event on the centenary of its establishment is undoubtedly an important milestone in the brand's development journey. On the lawn in front of Goodwood Manor, a MG-themed sculpture stands out, with the iconic MGB and the first open-top electric sports car, the MG Cyberster, symbolizing the brand's 100-year heritage from the past to the future.
In this year's speed festival, MG brought 3 new cars to the show: among them, the new electric supercar EXE181 not only paid tribute to the speed legend in the history of the brand, but also showed the breakthrough and innovation of "Made in China"; The Cyber GTS Concept features a futuristic design that reflects the brand's forward-thinking approach to the integration of design aesthetics and technology. The all-new MG HS, which is the best-selling brand new in the United Kingdom, made its world premiere at a price of 24,995~33,995 pounds, and the new car not only provides two power options: gasoline and PHEV (plug-in hybrid), but also achieves a comprehensive upgrade in exterior design and functional configuration. During the Festival of Speed, MG also held an exclusive parade and a race parade of production cars, and the classic models in the brand's history and the main models currently on sale were all unveiled to celebrate the brand's centennial.
As the official partner of this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, FAW Hongqi brought a number of star models to the show, including EH7, EHS7 and other new cars. Among them, the pure electric medium and large sedan Hongqi EH7 has been launched in China in March this year; Hongqi's first medium and large electric SUV, the EHS7, made its world debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April this year, and this is the car's first overseas appearance. At the Red Flag brand launch conference of the Goodwood Speed Festival, Yang Dayong, general manager of China FAW Overseas Business Department and chairman of China FAW Import and Export Corporation, announced that EH7 and EHS7 officially opened blind booking in the European market.
BYD, Chery, and Geely are full of electricity
BYD, which is steadily advancing its overseas layout, made its first joint appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with its sub-brands Yangwang and DENZA, showing a diversified product matrix. Among them, BYD brought its latest BYD SEAL U DM-i (Song PLUS DM-i Champion Edition in China) to Goodwood, and models such as the Seal, Dolphin and BYD ATTO 3 were also unveiled.
Yangwang brought the U8 and U9 to the stage, and competed with many of the world's top supercars in the hill climbing race, attracting many foreign automotive media and fans to stop and watch, showing the style of China's high-end new energy vehicles. In addition, the new energy luxury MPV Denza D9 made its public debut in the United Kingdom, and the audience praised the car's spacious and comfortable interior space and intelligent technology after the experience.
Chery Group's JAECOO brand unveiled the new SUV model JAECOO J7 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which was built by Chery's global design team and attracted a lot of spotlight through its avant-garde and dynamic design language and high-tech configuration. Like the previously released JAECOO J8, the JAECOO J7 is also mainly aimed at overseas markets. In terms of power, the JAECOO J7 is equipped with a plug-in hybrid system that combines a 1.6-liter engine and an electric motor, and has an all-electric range of 120 kilometers.
Geely Group's two major brands, Polestar and Lotus, also came to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to "check in". The Polestar BST Concept made its global debut at Goodwood, with a bespoke bodywork and a sporty look in classic racing silver livery. In addition, the Polestar 3, Polestar 4 and Polestar 6 concept cars were also unveiled in the exhibition area, attracting widespread attention. Like Polestar, Lotus returned to Goodwood with a number of all-electric supercars such as the EVIJA.
In addition, Xpeng Motors brought the G6 model to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which was developed based on the SEPA2.0 "Fuyao" global intelligent evolution architecture, and was equipped with a global 800V platform as standard, with excellent overall space performance. On July 15, Xpeng Motors officially announced that it will enter the United Kingdom market. It is reported that Xpeng Motors is expected to adopt a traditional dealer model in the United Kingdom market instead of a direct sales model.
It can be seen that most of the above-mentioned Chinese car companies came to Goodwood with the latest electric models, which attracted wide attention from foreign media and fans, demonstrating the cutting-edge technology and excellent performance of China's new energy vehicles. The Goodwood Festival of Speed has also witnessed the gradual transition of the world's automobile industry from the era of internal combustion engines to the era of electric vehicles in the past 30 years, and the Chinese automobile industry has also moved from local to global.
Not afraid of the threat of tariffs, long-term layout
It is worth noting that on the eve of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the European Commission imposed temporary countervailing tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China. On July 15, local time, the 27 member states of the European Union held the first round of voting on the plan to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The results of the vote showed that 12 member states voted in favor of the tax, 4 against and 11 abstained. France, Italy and Spain voted in favour, while Germany, Sweden and Finland abstained. It is reported that the vote is non-binding, and countries can also change their positions when the official vote is held this autumn, but the current position of each member state may affect the final conclusion of the European Commission.
Despite the European Commission's "tariff stick", most Chinese automakers are still committed to exploring the European market. For FAW Hongqi, this cooperation with Goodwood Festival of Speed marks the opening of a new chapter in the internationalization journey of the Hongqi brand, and also symbolizes the promotion and expansion of the Hongqi brand in overseas markets, especially the European market, and has achieved phased achievements.
By sponsoring the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the MG brand has also fully demonstrated its determination to promote globalization. According to foreign media reports, SAIC is currently negotiating with the Ministry of Industry of Spain, which is considering establishing an electric vehicle factory in Spain to produce MG brand models. It is reported that SAIC Motor will make a decision by September 30 this year, and the new plant may become its first electric vehicle plant in Europe, and plans to produce the first car in the fourth quarter of 2027. In addition to Spain, SAIC is also considering building plants in Hungary or the Czech Republic, where labor costs are relatively low.
It is worth noting that Chery signed a joint venture agreement with Spain's Ebro in April this year, and the two parties will invest a total of 400 million euros to produce electric vehicles in Barcelona's free trade zone. According to the latest data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chery surpassed SAIC Motor to become the top exporter in the first half of this year with an export volume of 532,000 vehicles.
Among the top 10 auto export companies in the first half of the year, BYD saw the largest increase. At the end of last year, BYD officially announced the construction of a new energy vehicle production base in Szeged, Hungary, which will be completed and put into operation within three years. On July 8, BYD signed an agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Turkey. According to the agreement, BYD will invest US$1 billion in a new automotive plant and R&D center in Turkey. The construction of a factory in Turkey is also to better expand the European market. It is reported that Turkey's customs union with the EU and free trade agreements with non-EU countries guarantee duty-free exports of automobiles and related parts produced in the country.
On July 5, the Turkey government published a presidential decree on the revision of additional tariffs on imported products, stipulating that no additional taxes and fees will be levied on the import of automobiles within the scope of investment incentive policies, with immediate effect. According to the latest regulations, car manufacturers who invest in Turkey and set up factories will enjoy investment incentives and will not have to pay the previous 40% additional tariff, but only pay 10% tariff.
This time, a number of Chinese car companies participated in Goodwood, performed "Fast and Furious" and "Electric and Technology", and committed to continuously improving brand awareness, deepening brand value and concept in the European market by participating in the innovative marketing of this unique event. It can be seen that Chinese automobiles are not afraid of stormy seas, and are going deeper, farther and more practical on the road of "going to sea".
Text/Editor: Wan Ying Layout: Liu Xiaoye
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