Paris Motor Show kicks off with Chinese EV brands showcasing latest models

The 2024 Paris Motor Show kicked off on Monday in Paris, which is expected to attract 500,000 visitors over its seven-day run.

Nine Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are showcasing their latest models at the show, as they seek to expand their presence in the French and wider European markets.

Chinese brands, including BYD, Hongqi, GAC, and AITO, have occupied significant space in Pavilion 5, where they are showcasing their latest models, innovative designs, and technological advancements.

The BYD debuted its Sealion 7, a mid-size electric SUV, and introduced its luxury Yangwang U8 SUV to the French market.

Xpeng unveiled its P7+ model, which it describes as "the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) vehicle," with prices starting from 209,800 yuan (about 29,600 dollars) per unit. Leapmotor, in collaboration with Stellantis, introduced the B10 model, a compact electric SUV that will be manufactured in Poland for European consumers, according to Leapmotor. It aims to have 500 sales points by the end of 2025 in the region.

China-built EVs totalled 3.5 percent of new registrations in the EU market in 2020, which rose to 27 percent in the second quarter of this year, prompting the EU to take tariff measures to protect its auto producers.

Some Chinese carmakers are now considering to manufacture their vehicles in Europe so that would allow them to bypass the new taxes imposed by the EU from next month on China-produced EVs.

The BYD is already expanding its operation in Europe, according to its European head of communications Jean-Briac Dalibard.

"Through its (BYD's) technology and through its investment in R and D, you must know that we have more than 100,000 engineers. So basically we are having 15 patterns approved every day of the week," Dalibard said in an interview with China Global Television Network, expressing the belief that the BYD is uniquely placed to overtake established European names.

Sales in China for Germany's BMW and Mini, the British brand it owns, fell 30 percent last quarter. German combustion models used to dominate the Chinese market, but EVs and plug-in hybrids now make up more than half of car sales in China.

"We can see competitors, we have many competitors here on the Paris Motor Show and they are offering new electric cars, really interesting for market with lower prices, with smaller cars as well. And it's really interesting," said a staff member from the Czech automobile manufacturer Skoda.

Despite the huge number of chargeable car models making their debut at the Paris Motor Show, EU countries are starting to phase out customer incentives to go green, due to high costs at a time when public finances are tight. While European consumers are still buying EVs, sales of European brands are slowing, coinciding with a rapid shift to EVs from market competitors like China.

The Paris Motor Show spans five halls with 70,000 square meters of indoor space and an additional 15,000 square meters of outdoor exhibition space this year.

Horgos Port, a major border junction linking China to Central Asia, handled over 38 million tons of goods in the first ten months of this year, marking a 10 percent year-on-year increase, according to the latest customs data.

Located on the border of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the port has played a pivotal role in the growing development of trade routes between China and Europe.

Data showed that from January to October this year, the main imported goods through the Horgos Port included electromechanical products, agricultural products, food items, and metal ores and sands. Exports mainly included new energy vehicles, electromechanical products, high-tech goods, textiles, and related products.