BERLIN: A new wave of Chinese-built electric cars is heading for Europe, carrying a raft of affordable pure EVs and hybrids that are set to light up the sales charts.
The whole automotive sector is undergoing a transformation at the moment as online marketing competes with traditional sales outlets like showrooms. The Chinese hope to benefit too from these changes.
Until now niche Chinese brands like start-ups Nio, Byton and Xpeng have been trying to win over Tesla customers with innovative technology and striking designs.
It's now the turn of manufacturing giants, little known in many places outside China, who hope to lure away customers from makers like Germany's Volkswagen.
"We really should take them seriously this time around," says car guru Stefan Bratzel from Bergisch Gladbach Economic University in Germany.
"Most of them have done their homework and they have learned from past mistakes."
These days Chinese cars absolve crash tests with the same aplomb as their European equivalents. This is a far cry from several decades ago when their copycat models were lambasted for being unsafe at any speed.
Aiways is a brand few people in Europe will be familiar with. The company builds electric cars only and the snub-nosed U5 sells in Europe from €36,000 (RM174,000).
It is as long as a VW ID.4 and the premium version comes with decent-sized 63kWh battery pack. Range is give as 410km between charges.
MG was relaunched by a Chinese company in 2011 and the once-famous British sports car brand has since been building value-focused models, with increasing success.
The MG Marvel R is the latest electric offering and prices start at €40,000 (RM194,000). The 4.67-metre SUV has a generic look to it and squares up against the ID.4 from VW.
Ora and Wey are also newcomers. Both brands belong to Great Wall Motors which plans to undercut VW's ID.3 with an EV priced below €30,000 (RM145,000). The cute-looking Ora claims a range of 300km or 400km for the uprated variant.
Wey's oddly-named Coffee01 is a smart plug-in hybrid with so-called "Coffee Intelligence" on board, thanks to a cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 computer chip. A 14-inch display dominates the cockpit of this upmarket offering which can manage around 150km in electric mode.
Arcfox based at the town of Magna near Graz in Austria will also be sending the fully electric Alpha S series powered by Huawei technology into the fray. The car was launched at the 2021 Shanghai International Auto show back in April.
Mercedes-Benz stakeholder Geely is launching the first model of its offshoot brand Zeekr, its second all-electric make alongside Polestar.
The 001 is claimed to be the world's first pure electric shooting brake.
Designed in Sweden at Geely Design Gothenburg, the "exciting" look seems to have been strongly influenced by the Porsche Taycan.
"The heart of an electric car is its battery and China is at the forefront here. The outlook for the country's carmakers is rosy," says German car industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer.
The quality of Chinese cars is now on a par with established makers, says the professor.
"And when it comes to software solutions the Chinese are now ahead of the competition."
