Voyah, Zeekr, Hongqi, Maxus, VinFast… These funny names are those of real car brands, some already driving on European roads, and which might become classics on French streets in a few years. This is one of the effects of the electric revolution that is sweeping the automotive sector. In the wake of Tesla, it allows new entrants to find a place in a landscape that has long remained immobile, dominated by the major historical manufacturers of the United States, Europe and Japan and their century-old brands.
We are even witnessing a real effervescence. By carrying out a quick count, it is possible to count around twenty 100% electric neo-builders in the process of attacking the old European market. EV Volumesa center for studies specializing in electric vehicles, has identified twelve of these new car brands whose vehicles were registered in Europe in January 2022: Polestar, MG, Hongqi, BYD, Nio, XPeng, Aiways, Maxus, Seres, Jac, Changan and Geely.
“Quality marketing and design”
All this is obviously just the beginning, and sales can sometimes be counted on the fingers of one hand. But some labels, such as Polestar or MG, already display volumes that can no longer be qualified as confidential (from 20,000 to 30,000 registrations in Europe in 2021). On the French market alone, 2,106 MG electric vehicles were registered last year, compared to 258 Aiways and 26 from the very confidential Seres, according to the automotive marketing research firm C-Ways.
For the moment, all of these pioneering brands are of Chinese origin, often subsidiaries of industrial giants: Geely, BYD, Saic (MG brand), Dongfeng (Seres brand). While the heat engine was a brake on the European incursion of the Chinese, battery technology is on the contrary perfectly mastered by the industry of the Middle Kingdom.
“The barriers to entry are falling, confirms Eric Champarnaud, boss and co-founder of C-Ways. These manufacturers generally use Norway, a paradise for electrical sales, as a bridgehead. The marketing and design are good, and the vehicles are often less expensive than their classic brand counterparts. » Seres, for example, offers an SUV offering 330 kilometers of autonomy for 32,000 euros before the ecological bonus. “Most arrive without a network, but some are integrating groups of dealers”, adds the consultant.
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