Shanghai – Leading car manufacturers are exhibiting their latest models designed for China and the world in Shanghai’s auto show this week, fighting not to be surpassed in the world’s largest car market while observing the next steps of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in his Commercial War
This year’s show in the industrial expansions of Shanghai arrives at a crucial moment. Three decades after Beijing set out to build a world -class automotive industry, local manufacturers represent approximately two thirds of sales within China and a growing part of global exports.
But with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, raising tariffs and the European Union slapping duties in Chinese electric vehicles, the sale to some foreign markets is increasingly challenging.
“Geopolitics is very complex and the situation is still uncertain,” said Wei Jianjun, president of Great Wall Motors, to journalists on Wednesday. “But Great Wall is always exploring investments in foreign markets.”
The exhibition celebrates two days of media and two commercial days before the public opens on Sunday. Run until May 2.
Encouraged by government subsidies for discarding older cars for the latest models, Chinese drivers have hugged the switch to electricitywith sales of hybrid vehicles and enhanced by the battery Jumping 40% last year.
Last year a total of 31.4 million vehicles were sold, including buses and trucks in the world’s largest market, 4.5% compared to a previous year, the Association of China’s car manufacturers reported.
The growth in EV sales was compensated with the fall in sales of traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles, which still represents just over half of new car sales.
The Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles Byd passed through Tesla As the largest manufacturer in EV for sales last year, informing income of more than $ 100 billion. Recently announced a Ultra rapid evas of EV The system that says can provide a complete load for its last EV in five to eight minutes, approximately the necessary time to fill in the pump. Plan to build more than 4,000 of the new load stations in China.
To obtain access to the potentially huge market from China, foreign car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, General Motors, BMW and Ford established joint companies with state local companies that begin in the 1980s and 90s, helping them to develop capacity and technology to compete worldwide.
They also created extensive supply chains in Shanghai and other important manufacturing centers, which helped foster other big names in the Chinese car, such as Byd, Geely and Great Wall Motors.
With the growth in the home limited by brutal competition, they are expanding rapidly, especially in Southeast Asia and other developing economies with silk, SUVs and relatively affordable trucks.
The Shanghai Auto Show is a meeting for the “survival of the most suitable,” said Zhou Lijun, director and head researcher of the Yiche Research Institute industry analysis.
That does not mean that all EV manufacturers are alone. Byd associated with Daimler, now the Mercedes-Benz group, to launch its premium denza brand. He is also challenging Toyota and other first level brands with his luxury brand Yangwang, with a price of up to 2 million yuan ($ 280,000)
The opening of the largest markets for foreign competition has given car buyers a more affordable and innovative vehicle option. That is a mixed blessing for manufacturers of major cars such as GM, Ford, Toyota and VW that are also fighting a wear battle in China.
“China is still a market that is worth fighting,” said Oliver Zipse, president of the BMW Group, who like other car manufacturers highlighted an approach “in China, for China”, at “Chinese speed.”
The optimistic overload of Shanghai by manufacturers of Chinese and foreigners of manufacturing in China for the world are Trump tariffs up to 145% in Chinese products, despite a 90 -day pause which has saved many other countries and 25% of US taxes on Imported cars and auto parts.
China Chief of Operations of the Japanese manufacturer Nissan Motor Co., Stephen Ma, said the company plans to make 10 new models of electric or hybrid battery by 2027 in China, for China and to “export to the world, except a country, you can guess which one.”
Higher in the United States and European tariffs In foreign manufacturing EVs, which leads Chinese newcomers to change production to these markets as more western consumers opt for the latest Chinese models.
Only a few decades, Nissan, Toyota and other Japanese car manufacturers were fighting commercial friction with the United States for their own exports. Now, they use hundreds of thousands of US workers in their American factories.
“The commercial war between China and the United States has blocked direct exports from China to the United States, but has not blocked local production there or the establishment of global production bases in Europe or other places,” said Zhou.
A report by the Rhodium group shows that almost half of the world markets are restricting the imports of China, partly due to national security concerns linked to advanced electronics in EVs and other high -tech vehicles. A minority of countries such as Australia and South Africa is still relatively open, and Russia is an important market, but is almost saturated, he says.
Chinese car manufacturers are left behind with global leaders such as Toyota in conventional gasoline and diesel fed vehicles, but can sell EV at approximately the same price, while solving rank problems and fast charge.
China has become part of what the geopolitical analyst Yanmei Xie described as a “change of technological paradigm” in a comment in the Japanese financial publication Nikkei Asia. Car manufacturers in China are becoming electric not only because of the green transition, but as a route to “technological and industrial domain,” he wrote.
EV manufacturers in China have benefited from not having great inherited operations that have to make the transition, said Stefan Sielaff, vice president of the Global Design of the EV Zeekr group, part of the stable of Geely brands. Founded in 2021, it is selling cars in more than 80 markets, even in Europe.
“They can immediately react to market demand, customer demand and can deliver very, very fast,” he said. “We have done most of these cars in two years. From 0 to 100 in two years.”
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The AP Yu Bing researcher contributed.
