Germany’s carmakers are now trying to shift engineering east, both to stay competitive in the Chinese market as well as to integrate technologies developed there into cars sold abroad.
Volkswagen said a year ago that it could now design cars from start to finish in China at its centre in Hefei.
Both BMW and VW have said they hope to export vehicles from China into other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
The low-cost Volkswagen ID.Every1, slated for European launch in 2027, will meanwhile have an electric motor made in China.
EV sales have risen sharply over the last year again in Germany as well as in Europe, and the best-selling EV models in Europe come from Czech manufacturer Skoda, German manufacturers Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Tesla. Among the top-10 EVs in Germany, there are no Chinese brands. Yet the propaganda tells you everyone is buying Chinese EVs in Europe.
Tja.
Machste nix.
Ich glaube das echte problem liegt darin, dass in China deutlich günstiger produziert und auch entwickelt werden kann.
Die chinesen sind technisch auf dem gleichen niveau (teilweise besser, teilweise schlechte), aber in DE kann man preislich nicht konkurieren. Soll man jetzt in DE Löhne kürzen, arbeitsicherheit vergessen und auf die Umwelt pfeifen, um mithalten zu können? Das will niemand, wird aber vermutlich schleichend kommen. Tja, das wird bitter werden.
Tja
Enshittify your products all the way to Hell and back, and
lobbybribe your way to legally mandated enshittification in the hope Chinese competitors won’t be able to comply, only to find out they are actually capable, because you were stupid enough to teach them your ways by using them for cheap labour to satisfy the boundless greed of your C-suites and shareholders.The German car industry is now eating the soup it has been cooking the previous decades.
It has nothing to do with enshitification and everything to do with betting on technology with no future.
They went all in on Combustion engines and didn’t see the signs of the time. But China did. Now Everyone is buying Chinese EVs.
It seems like you have a good understanding of Chinese business. What do you think about the fact that the EVs are often sold at a loss, subsidised by the Chinese taxpayer, to drive a region’s industry out of business?
This account is only active to post articles, not to interact in the comments. I doubt you’ll receive an answer.
German manufacturers for decades leaned into making their cars unique through engine and driving dynamics.
With EV, the engines are all pretty much the same in behaviour and can be quickly and easily tuned. The chassis has to be completely reimagined to hold the batteries and the massive weight is inescapable, with significant impact on driving dynamics. In a word, EVs are simple appliances.
It’s hard to compete without differentiation, especially when you’ve allowed the competition a decade+ head start.
Japanese carmakers have been largely about building appliances with ICE, and theyre arguably farther behind on electrification than German manufacturers (no, 25 years of mild hybrid doesn’t count), but they do have a rabid following of people who want reliable appliance type cars.
I don’t think that designing and building in China will change the fundamental calculus.
The unions are just as culpable as the leadership, I think. They’re not asking for reskilling or EV focus.
