Automotive industry expert Dudenhoffer: Chinese are years ahead of us -October 29, 2023 at 05:25 am EDT
PEKING (dpa-AFX) – Automotive industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhoffer believes Chinese manufacturers are years ahead of German industry giants and therefore hopes for cooperation between the brands. “I think these cooperations make a lot of sense, because if we don’t do this, we will lose an infinite amount of time,” the 72-year-old told Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Beijing. China is ten years ahead of Germany in autonomous driving and voice control for cars, for example, he said, partly because there are no suitable test tracks in this country. “It won’t work without the Chinese,” the economist summed up.
The founder of the Center Automotive Research also sees a change in the reputation of Chinese car brands in Europe. “If they have innovations, have good quality, have things that others don’t have, then people will buy that,” Dudenhoffer explained. He added that China’s manufacturers are pushing into Europe, especially with electric cars, which is good for competition and therefore good for German automakers.
Not all brands are likely to stay
The EU Commission launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies for e-cars at the beginning of October. Brussels sees the aid payments as a market-distorting competitive advantage for China’s producers. Dudenhoffer described the EU Commission’s action as “the worst thing you can do.” A Chinese backlash, such as new import duties, could damage the German auto industry “two or three times over,” he warned.
Which of the many Chinese brands will survive in the European market is the subject of eager speculation. “BYD will stay,” Dudenhoffer expressed his conviction. He pointed out that smaller brands such as Xpeng, which cooperates with Volkswagen, and also Leapmotor, in which Opel parent company Stellantis recently bought in, were already forming alliances. Other brands such as Geely and China’s first private manufacturer Great Wall Motor would need big-ticket items. Manufacturers would have to choose the right strategy: sell lots of e-cars with little time to spare because you have cost advantages – “and then the others starve because they can’t keep up with the costs.”
Is Germany losing the price competition?
Dudenhoffer does not expect Chinese e-car brands to open production sites in Germany. “I can’t imagine a really modern plant at the moment,” he said. Other European countries would have better cards to play. In Germany, for example, energy costs are too high compared with Poland, Hungary and Spain.
Dudenhoffer is certain that price competition with the Chinese will be tough. “The Germans will also have to deal with this. We’ve already got it with Tesla.”/jon/DP/men
