WUHU – “Now is the time for the Chinese car”. This is assured by Zhang Guibing, number one of Chery International, a branch of the state-owned giant Chery Group, which is about to arrive in Italy and Europe with the Omoda and Jaecoo brands. And all the main Chinese houses from Byd to Geely, from Great Wall to Saic, from Lynk & Co. to Nio and Xpeng are convinced of this. Brands which, as demonstrated by the Shanghai Auto Show, are ready to land or expand their presence in the Old Continent and in the rest of the world, taking advantage of the Asian country’s leadership in terms of electric and low environmental impact mobility.
Welcome back to the Salone, in Shanghai the car is once again at the center of the world
by our correspondent Fabio Massimo Signoretti
Zhang Guibing, presenting the new Omoda 5 and Jaecoo 7 models to dealers from all over the world at the Chery factory in Wuhu, a city of 2.5 million inhabitants overlooking the Blue River in the province of Anhui, about 4 hours’ drive from Shanghai (already exhibited at the Motor Show and which will arrive in Italy between December and January in the petrol versions, followed by the electric and hybrid versions respectively) has drawn up a very aggressive programme: “Times have changed – he said – and now in the age of , innovation and New Energy Vehicles, it’s China’s time”.
Chinese cars, moreover, are often created by Western designers, easily pass all European safety tests, have state-of-the-art infotainment solutions. And they are leaders in batteries. Walking inside the huge warehouses of the Chery factory, the technicians of the giant proudly showed their Crash test lab, the production lines with Yaskawa (Japanese) robots, the many workers at work and an ad hoc room for checking internal noises to the cars. And production standards seem really close to those of the West.
Guibing, speaking after a very cinematographic and futuristic presentation of Omoda 5 and Jaecoo 7, clearly stated that the new models were aiming for a “fashion elite” clientele attentive to a modern and sustainable lifestyle”, which for Chery “in By 2030, it will account for 21% of the car’s 66 million customers.” The CEO is convinced that the two new brands, Omoda and Jaecoo, will be able to capture 10% of this share and therefore “sell 1.4 million cars worldwide in 2030” (and 400,000 already in 2024).
Decidedly ambitious goals also considering new models arriving or already ready for export such as the Jaecoo 9 SUV. But Chery and the other Chinese brands can be helped by the diplomacy of Xi Jinping, who has signed new agreements with Russia and has to get Shiite Iran out of global isolation, favoring its thaw with Sunni Saudi Arabia, thus massively opening their markets to the Dragon industry. And the presence in force of Russian, Turkish and Iranian dealers as guests of Chery was certainly no coincidence: there was also simultaneous translation into Farsi.
The five incredible models on the stands in Shanghai
by our correspondent Fabio Massimo Signoretti
After all, China is the Mecca of the car in general and of the electric one in particular. It is the first market in the world with around 27 million registrations a year. More than half of the New Energy Vehicles (electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen) registered worldwide are sold within its borders (6.9 million out of 10.6 in 2022). And for ISPI, the Institute for International Political Studies, in 2030 it could also become the first car exporting country in the world with 5.5 million units, 2.5 of which are electric. A hypothesis strengthened by the strategies of Chery and the other large Chinese groups and which could create problems above all for European manufacturers, because, while the USA with the Inflation Reduction Act, have already taken the field to defend those who produce in America, the The EU has so far only discussed it without finding solutions and it seems the ideal market for the Dragon’s assault.
The Chinese landing, moreover, will also take place with petrol or plug-in hybrid models, evidently with the intention of exploiting the slowness in the energy transition of many European countries, Italy in primis, to make itself known and then launch the final assault on zero emissions. However, a move that could help the resistance of the EU car brands, strengthened by their history, their networks and consolidated pre- and post-sales assistance: the European “response” of the Maserati Grecale Folgore and the new Porsche Cayenne at the Shanghai Motor Show was much appreciated, as well as the Japanese one with for example the Nissan Max-Out. The game is only just beginning. And there will be a lot of play on the price front.