The latest Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker to enter the Irish market, Xpeng, had its official launch event in Dublin last night.
On display was Xpeng's X2, a flying car which consists of eight individual rotors and motors surrounding a two-seater cabin.
"Xpeng is an exciting electric car brand coming from China," said Ciarán Allen Sales Director at Motor Distributors Ltd.
"The X2 is a flying car. It is already available for pre-order in China and watch this space for an Irish launch but this event is all about the Xpeng G6, an electric SUV," Mr Allen added.
The flying car may not be going on sale in Ireland any time soon but its presence at the launch event was a reminder of the Chinese ingenuity that has led to the success of the country's booming electric car industry.
Xpeng is the newcomer in Ireland, but established brands such as BYD, MG and Polestar are proving increasingly popular with Irish motorists.
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"They have certainly made an impact in the market and even if we look at the best selling brands, last year BYD were number five in terms of EV brands, and MG were number six so they have come very far in a very short space of time," said Geraldine Herbert, Motoring Editor with the Sunday Independent.
Paul Monahan, Head of Data at DoneDeal Motors, said the main Chinese car brands have been experiencing steady growth.
"We have seen them grow year-on-year but they are still a relatively small piece of the pie," Mr Monahan said.
"The established manufacturers, like the European, Korean and Japanese car brands, when it comes to EV demand on DoneDeal are still much bigger," he added.
That could soon change however with technological advances giving Chinese carmakers the edge.
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BYD's shares jumped in value earlier this month when it announced that its new battery and charging system was capable of providing 470km of range in just five minutes.
China always struggled to compete with legacy car makers when it came to petrol and diesel engines but in the EV market it is a very different story.
"They have years of expertise when it comes to building electronic consumer goods, and the electric car manufacturing process aligns itself very closely to that," Ms Herbert said.
"They really have made strides and at this stage, are passing out European car makers, both in battery technology and access to raw materials," she added.
She believes that the perception of Chinese cars being 'cheap and cheerful' is wrong.
"They offer Irish consumers a lot for their money and you get a lot of good tech.
"You are getting very much a European type car, it just happens to be built in China and remember, a lot of European cars are also built in China, so that line is blurring," Ms Herbert said.
"Chinese car makers have brought competitive pricing and have forced legacy car makers to also reduce their prices," she added.
The market share in Europe would likely be higher, if not for the imposition of tariffs by the EU.
"They are getting smart about that, they are looking at setting up factories in Europe so they will not be subject to tariffs," Ms Herbert said.
"They have also moved into plug-in hybrids which are not subject to tariffs, so they are beating the system that way.
"So we will see that share grow, definitely, substantially over the next few years," she added.
Tesla's woes
Figures released this week showed that Tesla's market share in Europe continued to shrink year-on-year in February, as sales of the all-electric car maker dropped for a second consecutive month despite rising overall EV registrations.
Tesla is also experiencing a slump in the US where cars have been burned and dealerships have been shot at and vandalised.
It comes amid a backlash against the company's CEO Elon Musk who has undertaken a controversial cost-cutting role in the Trump administration and has also courted far-right parties in Europe.
Mr Monahan said they have not seen a major slump in Tesla sales in Ireland.
"It is nothing like what we are seeing in Europe," he said.
"Tesla are losing market share bit by bit in Ireland in the new and used space combined, that DoneDeal looks at, and that is mainly down to competition.
"It is a slow moving trend as new entrants come in and established manufacturers release new EVs," he said.
"In new sales, Tesla are holding shares and have grown their new car sales in Ireland by about 30% so far this year in line with the market," he added.
The Tesla Model 3 was the best-selling EV in Ireland in February, which would indicate there is no great Mr Musk effect at the moment.
"It is hard to see how there will not be though," said Ms Herbert.
"The Tesla brand has always stood for environmental responsibility and progressiveness, and Musk was for a very long time the personification of that brand.
"He now stands for something very different so it is hard to see how that is not going to have an impact," she said.
"I think the issue with Ireland is we are a small market, it could take a while before we see that European decline happening here," she added.
Tesla's loss will likely be China's gain as its carmakers continue to expand in the Irish market.
