william liCEO of the startup NIO believes that Chinese electric car manufacturers should prepare for the possible deployment of protectionist measures in Europe after the massive landing of new brands. According to the executive, Chinese groups currently have a cost advantage of up to 20% over rivals like Tesla thanks to the fact that the Asian country controls the supply chain and raw materials.
“After exports grow and grow, the market will definitely be protected. It is not a good thing for global sustainable development, but we must respect that each country has considerations to protect local industries. This is the reality we must face.”
NIO does not plan to participate in the price war started a few weeks ago by Tesla, because according to Li, this move would damage the residual values of its cars. At the moment, the Model 3 is about $20,000 cheaper than the NIO ET5your access model. “So in terms of starting prices, we [NIO y Tesla] We are no longer in the same segment.
Carlos TavaresCEO of the Stellantis group, has made his concern about Chinese competition clear on several occasions, even stating that the Euro 7 regulations benefit foreign companies. “The price difference between European and Chinese vehicles is significant. If nothing changes in the current situation, European middle-class customers will increasingly turn to Chinese models. The purchasing power of many people in Europe is declining markedly.”.
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“Europe’s emissions regulatory regime is not helping automakers in the region. European regulation ensures that electric cars manufactured in Europe are 40% more expensive than comparable vehicles made in China. We should ask the European Union to impose the same conditions in Europe for Chinese manufacturers under which we Western manufacturers compete in China.
The European market is completely open to the Chinese and we don’t know if their strategy is to gain market share at a loss and increase their price later. President Macron understands this, but there has to be a bigger front to say we welcome the Chinese to Europe, but only if they compete with us under the same rules.”
Source | Automotive News Europe
