BEIJING (AP) — How about rotating a car’s front bucket seats 180 degrees so they face the back seats and pulling out a table so the occupants can play cards or eat a meal? Or a 43-inch (109 centimeters) screen for the passengers in the back seat?
Chinese electric car makers’ seemingly endless efforts to redefine the automobile were on display Thursday at the opening of the country’s largest annual auto show. They are forcing established manufacturers like Volkswagen and Nissan to change the way they develop cars in order to remain players in the world’s largest automobile market.
Nissan, along with Toyota, announced a collaboration with a major Chinese technology company at the Beijing Auto Show, as the Japanese manufacturers look to meet customer demand in China for AI-powered online connectivity in cars.
The car with a large flat screen was launched last week at a price of 789,000 yuan ($109,000) by ZEEKR, a young company part of the Geely Group, a major Chinese automaker that also owns Volvo. The vehicle with rotating front seats, the ZEEKR Mix, was also presented as an intelligent living room on wheels. It will be the company’s fifth model when it launches later this year.
“What was once the mass market is now being replaced by new energy,” ZEEKR Vice President Jason Lin told The Associated Press at his company’s premises in Beijing’s sprawling exhibition center. “This is particularly clear at the motor show this year. The cars you see at the New Energy stand are very creative. … But when we look back at the gasoline car market, it seems that they are all cars from three, five years ago.”
A government green energy push to boost the development of the electric vehicle industry has transformed the automotive market in China. Electric vehicle sales reached 25% of new car sales last year, displacing the market for gasoline-powered vehicles. But it’s not just a matter of how the cars are powered. Chinese automakers have added digital features and connectivity to the Tesla model that appeal to a younger, tech-savvy car-buying audience.
The proliferation of electric vehicle manufacturers, encouraged by tax breaks and green energy subsidies, has led to a fierce price war that is expected to lead to a shakeout and consolidation of the industry in the coming years. Geely’s ZEEKR division, which delivered its first car less than three years ago, has yet to turn a profit, but Lin said the goal is to break even this year.
Hybrid vehicles, which lag behind electric vehicles in China, are expected to be a growing segment in the future. The country’s largest electric vehicle maker, BYD, introduced two “dual-mode” plug-in cars that can run either exclusively on electricity or as hybrid vehicles. The company also introduced the latest version of a hybrid off-road SUV from its luxury brand Yangwang, including an optional integrated drone system.
“China’s electric cars… have successfully implemented the large-scale replacement of traditional fuel cars, and this trend is irreversible,” said Lu Tian, sales manager for BYD’s Dynasty models, named after China’s former imperial dynasties.
Not so fast, said an executive at Chery, a more traditional Chinese manufacturer and leading exporter. Li Xueyong, deputy general manager, said the company envisions a future that is 40% fuel vehicles, 30% hybrid vehicles and 30% electric vehicles. The company plans to develop both fuel-powered and new energy cars, he said.
With competition so fierce at home, many Chinese manufacturers are looking overseas, raising concerns in both Europe and the United States that cheaper Chinese imports could ruin their auto industries. The EU is considering whether to impose tariffs on electric vehicles made in China because of government subsidies that have fueled the industry’s growth.
In Mexico, the market share of Chinese vehicles rose from about 2.6% in 2021 to 19.2% in the first quarter of this year. Most of these were petrol-powered vehicles, as there are few charging stations and the cost of electricity makes them expensive to use at home.
BYD launched its budget Dolphin Mini, sold in China as Seagull, in Latin American markets this year. The company accounted for 41% of electric vehicle sales in Brazil in the first three months of this year.
Chinese manufacturers begin building factories abroad. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who began his political career in the 1970s as head of auto workers’ unions, was personally involved in negotiations last year to build a BYD factory in Bahia state on the site of a former Ford factory , which was closed when the US manufacturer left the country. Two other Chinese automakers, including Chery, already have factories in Brazil.
In China, foreign manufacturers are accelerating the development of new electric car models with digital connectivity to remain competitive.
“This market has become something like a fitness center for us,” said Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume on Wednesday on the eve of the auto show. “We have to work harder and faster to keep up.”
Other automakers expressed similar views. Japanese manufacturer Nissan sent top executives to the Beijing auto show to get a first-hand feel for the pace of change in China, company President Makoto Uchida said.
Nissan has signed a memorandum of understanding with Baidu to use the Chinese search engine’s generative AI capabilities in its cars sold in China. Uchida said Nissan must meet the needs of Chinese customers at the pace at which the market is changing.
“If we cannot meet these two aspects, I think it will be very difficult to sustain our business in China,” he said.
Tang Daosheng, an executive at Chinese tech giant Tencent, attended Toyota’s presentation at the auto show and said the company will provide big data and cloud computing services for Toyota vehicles and its ubiquitous WeChat messaging and email service. Connect payment system with them.
Volvo, the Swedish brand purchased by Geely, emphasized a simpler approach to digitizing its cars. The company said its new EX30 electric SUV uses sustainable fabrics and features an audio system and tablet screen that are easy to use.
“We believe technology should be measured by its usefulness and not just its novelty,” said Xiaolin Yuan, head of Asia Pacific at Volvo.
The EX30 will be sold in China for 210,000 to 260,000 yuan ($29,000 to $36,000), the company said.
American brands at the show included Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet. Ford showcased a muscular look tied to its history, telling the story of the Mustang and the Bronco – which the company called a “sport utility vehicle” when it was introduced in 1966 – and showing off the latest versions of those models.
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Associated Press researchers Yu Bing and Wanqing Chen and video producers Olivia Zhang and Caroline Chen in Beijing and writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Gabriela Sá Pessoa in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed.