Renault and China-owned MG launched new electrified cars in Europe at the Geneva car show today as Chinese automakers seek to take more market share from legacy European rivals.
Europe's auto industry is scrambling to cut costs and roll out more affordable, well-reviewed electric vehicles (EVs) to counter the arrival of cheaper Chinese models.
The strong presence of Chinese competitors at the show, which returns this week after a four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shows "they are interested in our market, in our customers," Renault CEO Luca de Meo told Reuters.
Speaking to media later, after unveiling Renault's highly-anticipated new electric R5, he insisted Europe's auto industry was "up for the challenge".
De Meo repeated calls to replicate the success of European airplane maker Airbus AIR.PA for the car industry, by fostering deeper cooperation between automakers.
Renault itself is in early talks with Volkswagen to share its Twingo electric platform with the German company, he said.
The French automaker's CEO also said he was pushing for European Union regulation to be more flexible for small cars to help make them more competitive.
In a sign of weakening interest from legacy automakers for most car shows, there were fewer exhibitors than before Covid, with stands in just one hall, rather than in several at the last show in 2019. US EV pioneer Tesla does not have a stand.
The R5 is central to Renault's efforts to build affordable EVs. Rival Stellantis will roll out its electric Citroen e-C3 this year, which starts at 23,300 euros.
Also on Monday, SAIC's MG brand announced the European launch of its MG3 hybrid, which is already sold in Britain.
According to French auto consultancy Inovev, with sales of 230,000 cars last year MG sold two out of three Chinese-made cars in Europe.
Inovev estimates that, including Russia and Turkey, Chinese automakers should sell more than one million vehicles across Europe in 2024.
China's state-owned SAIC also said its EV brand IM Motor would launch its L6 luxury electric SUV in Europe next year. IM Motors is also backed by Alibaba Group 9988.HK investments.
China's BYD, which outsold Tesla globally in the fourth quarter, lost out to Renault's Scenic in the "car of the year" award at the exhibition.
"This is another symbol we are back in the game," Gilles Le Borgne, Renault's head of engineering, told a media event.
But the fact the BYD Seal electric sedan was in the running for the award shows just how far China's automakers have come in their quest to break into the European market.
Like many other Chinese models, the Seal has earned a five-star Euro NCAP (new car assessment programme) rating, a far cry from the crash test failures in 2006 and 2007 that marred their early attempts to crack Europe's competitive market.
