Global carmakers desperately want to be more Chinese

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Any doubts that China has become the heartland of the global car industry are quickly dispelled by a visit to the country’s main motor show. Beijing’s noisy and crowded event this year was twice as large as in 2024 (it moves to Shanghai on alternate years) with around 180 new cars on display. The show, which concluded on May 3rd, demonstrated once again that foreign carmakers are lagging behind their Chinese rivals in the race to the industry’s future.Yet the show also illustrated the extent to which foreign carmakers are looking to remake themselves in the image of their ascendant Chinese competitors.

At events to launch new models Western executives from Volkswagen (VW) and Mercedes switched effortlessly between English and Mandarin. VW opted to round off its show with some interpretive Chinese dance set to electronic music; Mercedes went for a Chinese rap.To stem their loss of market share, carmakers around the world are looking to become more like their Chinese competitors—and not just when operating in China. So they might.

François Provost, Renault’s chief executive, admits that China now leads the industry in technology, speed and competitiveness. To match them, increasingly rattled car bosses are adopting Chinese practices and partnering with Chinese firms. Done judiciously, this may help them close the gap.

But further down the road potholes lurk.Slowing the pace of China’s blistering rise is vital. The market share of foreign firms in China has almost halved in five years, to around 30% in 2025. Moreover, in 2023 China passed Japan to become the world’s largest exporter of cars (see chart).