China's Xpeng says German carmakers ready to tackle crisis in EV race
MUNICH (Reuters) — German carmakers are determined to tackle the problems they face in producing competitive electric vehicles, an executive at Chinese EV maker Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV) said on Wednesday, as China's carmakers put pressure on European rivals in the race to electrify.
German carmakers have shown their «strongest determination ever to change» to try and catch up and address their challenges, Xpeng president Brian Gu said in an interview on the sidelines of Munich's IAA (NYSE:IAA) car show.
Gu was echoing an earlier speech by Hildegard Mueller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
Mueller separately told Reuters on Monday that Germany was «losing its competitiveness» and was now in «an acute situation in which investments have to be made».
The message from Mueller's comments is «they are feeling a very strong sense of crisis,” Gu said. “I think they also showed the biggest commitment to catch up after they reflected on a bitter experience.”
Mueller's comments were made as Europe's car industry scrambles to ramp up production of electric vehicles with the help of partnerships and investments.
Of new EVs sold in Europe in 2023, 8% were made by Chinese brands, up from 6% last year and 4% in 2021, according to autos consultancy Inovev. Globally, China leads EV sales, the latest data from tech industry researcher Counterpoint shows. The U.S. has the fastest growing EV sales with Germany in third place.
Start-ups like Xpeng still need to leverage German automakers' scale, branding and investments to lower costs and survive in an increasingly crowded market, Gu told Reuters.
Chinese companies including Xpeng, BYD (SZ:002594) and Leapmotor are seeking the higher margins and faster growth
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