International Observation｜Share and Win-Win - China's Electric Vehicles Shine at Munich Motor Show

MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The German International Automotive and Intelligent Mobility Expo 2023 recently opened in Munich. Compared with the last expo, the number of Chinese exhibitors doubled this year, becoming the highlight of this exhibition. Participants and industry experts believe that Chinese car companies to plough into the European market can meet local demand, but also will inspire the spark of innovation, to create more Chinese and European car companies to share win-win cooperation new opportunities.

Going to Sea Together

At the six-day Munich Motor Show, many Chinese brands such as BYD, MG, Zero Run, Xiaopeng, Avita and others came prepared to launch the European debut of new electric cars, as well as a number of main models that attracted widespread attention.

‘The fact that so many Chinese brands came to the Munich Motor Show was very exciting for the attendees. We were able to see how Chinese car companies are realising the digital revolution in their products.’ Peter Fentel, vice president of technology and innovation at Capgemini Research & Development, said that Chinese brands also enhance the international character of the Munich Motor Show.

At the first media day before the show, Ningde Times presented its ‘Shenxing Supercharger Battery’, a lithium iron phosphate battery that can be mass-produced and can help electric vehicles achieve a range of 400 kilometres within 10 minutes of charging.

Gao Pengfei, R&D engineer of Ningde Times battery core, said the new technology aims to provide lower-cost car batteries to help popularise electric cars faster. European car companies have always been interested in Ningde Times' new technology and are in great need of competitive solutions from Chinese battery companies, ’We hope this product can become a new standard for the industry.’

Stefan Bratzel, founder of the Centre for Automotive Management, an independent research institute at the University of Applied Sciences Bergisch Gladbach in Germany, said that Chinese car companies have attracted attention at this year's Munich Motor Show, and that China's automotive industry not only enjoys a cost advantage but is ‘further ahead in the electric revolution’. The Chinese automotive industry not only has a cost advantage, but is also ‘further along in the electric revolution and becoming more and more innovative’.

Graciana Petersen, senior vice president of corporate strategy and transformation at ZF Group, said ZF has noticed the continued growth of China's automotive market, especially the increasing penetration of new energy vehicles.

‘It's not just a question of quantity, it's also a question of quality.’ Chinese consumers demand and expect extremely high standards from the safest and smartest components and systems in their cars, she said. Fully aware of the strength and technological progress of the Chinese automotive industry, ZF is ready to strengthen its co-operation and joint development.

Mutual Benefits

German BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipzer said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporter, BMW opposed to China's ‘decoupling broken chain’, the Chinese market is very important to BMW. ‘China is BMW's largest market, we are very closely linked to the Chinese market, the degree of participation is very high.’

Bosch China President Chen Yudong said, Chinese car brands into the European market will be an unstoppable trend, but also face challenges. Bosch is willing to support Chinese car companies when they need to localise production. He said that China is the largest market for Bosch Group in the world, and Bosch will continue to invest in China and provide services for Chinese customers.

Conlin Song, chairman of the board of directors of Germany's Mercedes-Benz Group AG, told Xinhua that Chinese brands have gained a firm foothold in the domestic market and have started to try to make a big splash in the international market, ‘which is a natural development process’. Conlinson said China is an excellent case study in market opening, as it has insisted on opening up to the outside world for more than 40 years, to the mutual benefit of the world economy.

Volkswagen Group Chairman of the Board of Management of Germany's Volkswagen AG Obermu told Xinhua that Volkswagen pays great attention to China, has achieved success in the Chinese market and has good partners, and China will continue to play an important role in Volkswagen's development in the future.

Growing Together

Germany's ZF Group laid out a new technology centre and electronics factory in China just last month, and its business in China continues to grow. Speaking to Xinhua, ZF Group Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer Haozhe Ke told Xinhua that China has a pivotal position for the company.

‘The Chinese customer base is younger and consumers are very open to innovation,’ he said. ’We would like to develop products together with our Chinese colleagues because they are close to the market and understand customer needs. That's how we drive innovation.’

Ningde Times established a partnership with BMW soon after its founding, and has since worked with Volkswagen, Daimler, and Peugeot Citroen Group. Gao Pengfei said, ‘European car companies are no longer willing to follow the obsolete technical standards of the past, and have begun to gradually move closer to us in order to improve their competitiveness. The products provided by Ningde Times make them very happy, which is a win-win situation.’

Speaking about the co-operation between VW and Chinese car companies, Obomu believes that win-win is very important when building partnerships. ‘Our past co-operation with Chinese companies such as FAW and SAIC has been a win-win situation, as will be the case in the future with companies such as Xiaopeng and Horizon.’