Inexpensive electric cars are hard to come by from German and European manufacturers. Chinese automakers are poised to jump into this gap in the market. And they "are no longer just copying Western cars, but are sometimes leaders in innovation," says an expert.
The range of e-cars is growing. And yet remains limited. Almost half of the battery cars offered in Germany are SUV models. Small and compact cars are particularly underrepresented among German brands. A gap that Chinese manufacturers are now beginning to fill.
Of 73 different electric cars on the German market, 28 are SUVs, as determined by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach. The electric crossovers are definitely attractive high-tech cars: large, powerful and with a long range - but also expensive. On average, according to CAM calculations, German customers currently pay almost 50,000 euros for a Stromer. Plus special equipment. Premium brands such as Audi, BMW or Mercedes, but also volume brands such as Ford, Skoda or Toyota are in some cases significantly higher.
The imbalance in the electric car market is not a purely German phenomenon. Even if you expand your perspective to Europe, there is an oversupply of expensive models. The demand for cheap electric vehicles, on the other hand, is hardly met, as can be seen from data from the management consultancy Jato. Accordingly, 48 percent of all electric car models on offer fall into the price range above 50,000 euros. However, the share of these vehicles in sales is only 18 percent. At the lower end of the market, the situation is exactly the opposite: while models with a purchase price of up to 20,000 euros make up just one percent of the range, their market share is 10 percent.
If you want an electric small car in Germany, you have comparatively little choice. Beyond the Opel Corsa-e and its group siblings, Fiat 500e, Renault Zoe and Twingo and its Smart offshoot, there are only two relatively expensive lifestyle models with the Honda e and Mini Cooper SE. In the classic compact class, things are no better with the ID.3, Renault Mégane E-Tech and Citroën e-C4.
So it's no wonder that a newcomer from China has recently caused a sensation in the Volks-Stromer segment: the MG4 Electric, a reputable hatchback with five doors, plenty of space, a range of 450 kilometers and an enticing starting price of 32,000 euros. A car that would be right for any European manufacturer - but which now comes from China. And it won't be the last, if you want to believe the ambitious announcements made by the many manufacturers from the Far East.
How did the gap in the European market that could now be filled by Chinese models come about? "European car manufacturers were a bit surprised by the rapid development of their Chinese competitors," believes Professor Stefan Bratzel, head of CAM. "Europeans have so far relied on a top-down strategy for e-cars. New technology first comes in higher segments with higher margins. And then it should slowly seep into the lower classes."
There could be no time for this in the future if the Chinese are already integrating digital technology and drive innovations into their basic models built in large numbers. Another advantage of the Asian competition: good access to raw materials for batteries and motors, which significantly simplifies planning and production and ultimately also enables competitive costs.
But the companies from the Middle Kingdom are not just competing with the established brands in the West on price. "Chinese manufacturers have long since stopped building copies of Western cars. Some of them are leaders in innovation. BYD, for example, is a world leader in cell production," explains Bratzel.
According to the expert, the companies, some of which were only a few years old, were not lugging around the ballast from the days of the combustion engine. "You don't have to worry about the further development of both drive systems at the same time." They behave accordingly fast and agile. According to a study by management consultancy PwC, Europe will import more cars than it will export by 2025. Up to 470,000 of these could come from Chinese brands.
Even the proud German premium manufacturers can no longer be too sure. Around 25 percent of their target group are considering buying a vehicle from the Middle Kingdom, according to a survey by management consultancy Berylls among customers of Audi, BMW and Mercedes. The experts call this remarkable, since most Chinese manufacturers have not yet started their marketing activities.
Most brands are therefore still not well known in this country. One of the few exceptions is the Volvo offshoot Polestar. According to the survey, one of the most important arguments for buying a Chinese car is the assumed lower price level. According to the experts, however, this could also become a problem for the Chinese manufacturers, who will find it difficult to rake in similar margins as the German premium competition.
But there are also other reasons for skepticism about a complete Chinese takeover of the European market. In the eyes of the Berylls experts, the models of the Chinese brands are too similar, and there has been no brand differentiation so far.
The Europeans also initially have advantages in the dealer and workshop network. The experts are therefore skeptical about the ambitious sales and growth targets of the newcomers from the Far East. Not least because the Chinese manufacturers do not have an infinite amount of time. Because the Europeans see the gap in their range of models and are trying to fill them. The VW Group, for example, wants to launch a family of small electric cars with prices starting at 25,000 euros in the middle of the decade. And the Stellantis Group is also planning a little later with a new family of small electric cars.
So the race for the European e-car market continues. "We are facing a kind of reorganization of the industry," believes CAM manager Bratzel. How exactly the fight for shares ends is still open.
