Adaptability and responsiveness. Chinese manufacturers inevitably raise these cardinal values when asked about their approach to the European market. Faced with regulatory, tax or customs obstacles aimed at weakening their competitive advantage, BYD, MG, Chery, Dongfeng, Geely, XPeng and Leapmotor are implementing adaptation strategies.
To sell you have to produce on site. It is impossible to deviate from this rule of the game that foreign brands had to comply with yesterday to gain a foothold in China. To avoid having to bear customs duties that could exceed a third of the value of the vehicle and claim the important French ecological bonus (4,000 euros, currently), all Chinese brands have sought an industrial establishment. The proposals are pouring in, but the most popular destinations are far from the main markets of Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
Central Europe, known for its low production costs, has already attracted BYD, which will build a factory in Hungary, but Italy and Austria are making intense efforts to establish themselves as a host country. The oversizing of the European productive apparatus also opens the possibility of absorbing existing production units. The Chery group will recover the old Nissan factory in Barcelona, and there is talk of Nio to reactivate activity at the Audi factory in Brussels.
For its part, Leapmotor tries to assemble from components mainly coming from China (known as the “SKD” technique, to assemble in semi-demolition) the little T03 at the Stellantis factory in Tychy, Poland. A solution that is difficult to maintain, but saves time.
Exchange of good practices
Another strategy to avoid this: invest in countries with low labor costs that have preferential trade agreements with Europe. BYD will be established in Türkiye and Morocco will offer hospitality to Asian brands. The latter simply follow the movement; Renault has been producing its Clio on the banks of the Bosphorus for a long time and both Stellantis and Dacia are now present in Morocco.
In exchange for the transfer of certain technologies (in the field of computer architecture and the integration of batteries in chassis), the Stellantis group makes part of its network of suppliers available to Leapmotor, with which it has created a joint subsidiary. distribution. This allows the Chinese company to foresee rapid growth in sales. Volkswagen, which has signed an agreement with XPeng, intends to design vehicles with its Chinese partner, which the latter could also sell in Europe.
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