RAY MASSEY: China arrives in Europe! Western motor industry under challenge

When the late Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai was asked by US President Richard Nixon during a visit to China in the early 1970s what he believed to be the implications of the French Revolution nearly 200 years earlier, he reportedly replied, “Too asked to say. ‘

Some suggest that his answer has been lost in translation and that he was in fact referring to the more recent Paris street riots of 1968.

Whatever the truth of the anecdote, it has been regarded for generations as a neat portrayal of China’s ancient culture in general, and the ruling Chinese Communist Party in particular.

So it should come as no surprise that Chinese carmakers have already penetrated the British, European and Western car markets – and are leading their offensive with affordable but well-specified zero-emission electric cars.

UNDERWAY

I have seen firsthand progress over nearly four decades as China emerged at the end of the Mao era and became an economic, industrial and political powerhouse through rapid industrialization.

It’s a familiar path, as newcomers from the East have arrived in Western markets and shaken them up – starting with well-stocked, value-for-money vehicles, then gradually getting more expensive.

First it was the post-war Japanese with Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus, Mitsubishi and Suzuki, among others. Then came the Koreans – with Hyundai, Kia, SsangYong and the more expensive Genesis. Now it’s China’s turn.

Ever heard of the Chinese car company BYD? Great Wall Ora? Wey or NIO? Geely or SAIC? If not, you will soon.

The Chinese have also spent many years picking up established British and European brands – including MG, Volvo, Midlands van-maker LDV (now Maxus), sports car maker Lotus and even the iconic London Black Cab – and creating a new stand -only brands such as Volvosibling Polestar.

A STAR TURN

This month’s Paris Motor Show is a good example. While most of the French car manufacturers – such as Renault and Peugeot – were present, most of the other European car manufacturers, especially Germans, were not present. But the Chinese were in strength to fill many of the gaps.

• Great Wall Motors brand Orais is launching in Britain its cute and fun-looking Funky Cat – a compact electric hatchback – and has signed a chain of UK dealers. Order books will open in November and the first deliveries to customers will take place later this year.
• BYD might be the biggest auto company you’ve never heard of. But the company with the slogan ‘Build Your Dreams’ is expected to bring its electric Atto3 hatchback to Britain, which has just achieved the maximum five stars in European crash safety tests. In Paris, BYD also launched its new Tesla-3 rival Seal. Founded in 1995, it is headquartered in Shenzhen, just opposite Hong Kong, and manufactures its own batteries and microchips. It is the company that keeps European rivals up at night.
• WEY unveiled a luxury flagship SUV called WEY Coffee 01.

NEW POWERHOUSE

I myself witnessed the beginning of this remarkable industrial journey in 1986 when, as a young journalist in training for the Coventry Evening Telegraph, I first traveled to mainland China to explore trading opportunities for companies in the West Midlands in this vast but closed country just starting to open up to the West. But how has it gained momentum since then.

But how has it gained momentum since then.

First, there was a battle of Western auto companies — including Fiat, BMW, Volkswagen, Renault and more — to capture some of the company in burgeoning China. But negotiators got tough negotiations in “partnership” deals in which they were the senior partners.

As China’s expertise grew, domestic manufacturers began making their own cars – often copycats of existing Western vehicles such as Range Rovers and even a Rolls-Royce.

Then Chinese companies started buying up ailing European automakers whose brands still had value – and electrified them.

After Britain’s MG Rover went bankrupt in 2005, Nanjing Automotive took it for a number before being acquired by Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), which it now owns.

Volvo, Midlands van-maker LDV (now Maxus), maker of the iconic London black cabs LEVC (owned by Geely), and Norfolk-based Lotus, which has just announced that its £89,500 electric Eletre hypercar will be available from 2023. Wuhan will be built. While others were also bought in a wave of deals. British and Western designers were recruited to give the Chinese cars a contemporary style.

And just this month, BMW-owned Mini announced that most electric vehicle production will be switched from the car’s home in Oxford to China, as part of a partnership deal with Great Wall (which at one point was rumored to be that it would want to buy the car). Oxford factory – a claim rejected).

And if you think existing Western automakers will be in a big battle with Chinese rivals, think again.

As Sun Tzu’s old military treatise The Art Of War makes clear, “Every battle is won before it is ever fought.”

Ford Fiesta reaches end of road after 46 years

Ford’s best-selling and long-running Fiesta supermini has hit the road after seven generations and will stop production next year, the company said.

It is being scrapped as Ford shifts priorities towards a new range of modern electric crossovers and SUVs – such as the Mustang Mach-e – and prepares for the UK’s ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

Since their launch in 1976, over 4.8 million of the popular small family hatchback Fiestas (pictured) have been sold in the UK, out of a total of over 22 million worldwide.

It was the most bought new car in the UK from 2009 to 2020, but was knocked out of the top spot last year by the Opel Corsa. In its launch year, a Fiesta even appeared alongside Roger Moore in the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

Ford said an electric version of the Fiesta – which costs from £19,000 – was not viable and so the latter will roll off the production line at Ford’s Cologne plant next year. Production at Ford’s Dagenham plant in Essex ended in 2002.

It means the Fiesta will follow the path of other Ford classics such as the Mondeo, Cortina, Capri and Focus, ending in 2025.

What scares you this Halloween?

With Halloween coming up and the nights to come, these can be scary times for motorists. But what exactly are drivers most afraid of?

Analysis of more than 5 million online Google searches by leasing company Vanarama (vanarama.com) shows that car breakdown is the number one fear for UK motorists, followed by cosmetic damage, parallel parking, reverse parking and car theft.

In fact, the research shows that drivers in the UK are four times more afraid of parallel parking than of having their motorcycle stolen.

The Vanarama report says: ‘Every year a staggering 419,000 British drivers seek tips on how to avoid and solve car breakdowns, making this by far the most feared driving aspect for Britons.’

In second place is cosmetic damage, such as minor scrapes and scratches, with 273,600 drivers seeking help for this type of superficial damage every year.

Parallel parking is the third most feared driving aspect for UK motorists, generating 170,160 online searches annually, the report said: “Shockingly, this is four times the number of drivers searching for car theft-related questions, such as anti-theft devices and fully comprehensive insurance products.”

Reverse parking is in fourth place generating 116,160 searches annually, followed by car theft in fifth place with 42,480. Globally, more than half of the 50 countries surveyed (56 percent or 28 countries) fear cosmetic harm the most.