Worth Comparing Jun-Premium Class '532' Electric Cars
Increasing Number of Chinese Companies Considering Entry into Korea
At the Beijing International Motor Show (Auto China), opening on the 25th in Beijing, China, global companies are competing to unveil new cars. With rapid growth in production and demand, China, leading the global electric vehicle market, is set for a "war of the stars." In particular, attention is focused on the competition in the premium electric vehicle market sparked by Xiaomi's first electric car, the SU7 (Chinese name: Suchi).
According to the Beijing Motor Show Organizing Committee, the Beijing Motor Show will be held from the 25th of this month to the 4th of next month at the Shunyi Hall of the Beijing International Exhibition Center. The exhibition area is 230,000 square meters, equivalent to 32 football fields. A total of 1,500 companies, including complete vehicle and parts manufacturers, will open exhibition halls.
This year's motor show theme is "New Era, New Cars," featuring 278 new models and 41 concept cars. Global companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Audi, Volkswagen, Polestar, Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)-GM (Chevrolet, Cadillac), Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, and others will participate. Local companies that have rapidly emerged as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturers, including BYD, Geely, Li Xiang, Changan, and Xiaomi, will also take part.
Korean companies Hyundai & Beijing Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis will each open booths showcasing models such as the "The All-New Santa Fe," electric vehicle "Ioniq 5 N," compact SUV "Sonet," and the premium brand "G80 FL" electrified model. American company Tesla will not participate.
Xiaomi, which recently launched the SU7, will participate for the first time as an electric vehicle manufacturer and set up a booth. Local media forecast that "Xiaomi's booth will be one of the main highlights of this Beijing Motor Show." They particularly noted that the SU7 has triggered competition in the premium electric vehicle market known as the "532 market" (length 5m, wheelbase 3m, price around 200,000 yuan). They also highlighted that relatively fast-growing local companies such as Xiaomi, Geely, Zhiji (a joint venture between Alibaba and Shanghai Automotive), and Jwei are all gathered in the same hall (W2).
Additionally, competition in the plug-in hybrid vehicle market, which has recently gained popularity in China, is expected to be observed. Last year, cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles approached 2.804 million units, recording a growth rate of 84.7% compared to the same period the previous year. Earlier, BYD attracted attention by unveiling its 5th generation DM hybrid technology, reducing fuel consumption to 2.9 liters/100km. Besides BYD, Shanghai Automotive, Geely Automobile, Chancheng Automobile, and Chery Automobile are also expected to showcase hybrid models at this motor show.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
