One of the world’s largest auto shows opened in Munich, Germany, yesterday, with Tesla Inc ending a 10-year absence to jostle for the spotlight with Chinese rivals as the race for electric car dominance heats up.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to officially inaugurate the IAA mobility show today. The event is held in Germany biennially.
However, yesterday’s press preview gave automakers a chance to show off some of the new models that would be hitting the road soon.
Photo: AP
The industry-wide shift to electric vehicles (EVs) would be the focal point at this week’s fair, with Chinese automakers out in force to target the European market.
In all, 41 percent of exhibitors at the industry fair have their headquarters in China, including brands such as BYD Co (比亞迪), XPeng Inc (小鵬) and Leapmotor Technologies Ltd (零跑科技).
US electric car pioneer Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, is to return to the IAA for the first time since 2013, and is expected to unveil a revamped version of its mass-market Model 3.
However, participation from European automakers at the IAA is to be muted.
Germany’s homegrown champions Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz AG would be joined by Renault SA from France, but 14-brand Stellantis NV would only be represented by Opel.
Although car sales in the EU have steadily improved in the past 12 months, they remain about 20 percent below their pre-COVID-19 levels as inflation and higher interest rates dampen the appetite for new vehicles.
While the European auto market is “pretty soft” right now, Renault’s plans to unveil a new product each month next year should help the automaker weather the difficult environment, CEO Luca de Meo said.
Renault is planning to list its EV and software arm Ampere next year, which would allow it to create a “pure EV player” that can help slash the cost of EVs over time. EVs are “not a mature technology yet,” De Meo told Bloomberg Television in an interview.
BMW presented its “Neue Klasse” (New Class) generation of electric cars in Munich on Saturday, a series of six vehicles that would be manufactured from 2025.
BMW and fellow European automakers are investing heavily in the switch to zero-emission driving as the EU aims to end sales of polluting engines by 2035.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen (VW) CEO Oliver Blume expects the company’s new partnership with Xpeng to reap results quickly in bringing the latest tailored products to Chinese customers, as VW seeks to turn around declining EV sales in China.
Blume told Bloomberg Television that VW has continued to focus on its unified cell and battery production, a key plank in gaining a competitive edge through the company’s huge scale. Blume said VW expects to use its unified cell in about 80 percent of its electric cars in the future.
About 700,000 visitors are expected to attend this week’s IAA mobility show.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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