The World: Paris Motor Show Demonstrates That European Automakers Still Possess Strength and Confidence to Compete with Chinese Counterparts

As the Paris Motor Show opened, Le Monde published an article on Tuesday asserting that European automakers remain capable of competing with their Chinese peers.

The publication noted that for decades, the European automotive industry has held a prominent position globally. However, in recent years, Chinese automotive brands have risen rapidly. On one hand, China has made consistent advances in battery technology, electric vehicles, and price competitiveness; on the other, Chinese manufacturers benefit from vast industrial scale and state support, enabling them to launch new products at competitive prices.

Currently, Chinese brands hold approximately 5% of the French market share and nearly 12% across Europe, with growth continuing. This year’s Paris Motor Show featured around 20 Chinese brands. European traditional automakers now face unprecedented challenges.

Nevertheless, Le Monde argues that European automakers are not yielding easily. The event sends a clear signal: the European automotive sector still maintains a robust competitive foundation and is actively responding to pressure from Chinese competitors.

Expanded Participation Reflects Competitive Intent

First, the presence of European brands at this year’s Paris Motor Show reflects their active engagement in competition.

Compared to the 11 European automakers participating in the 2024 edition, this year’s show saw an increase to 18.

Stellantis Group demonstrated particular vigor, spotlighting seven European brands—up from just three in 2024—a move intended to signal to the global market that its legacy automotive strength remains intact.

Le Monde observes that the advantage of European automakers lies first in deep-rooted cultural heritage. The performance-oriented image associated with BMW, the comfort-focused identity of Citroën, and the meticulous engineering standards of Volkswagen have become firmly established in consumer perception and are likely to endure. In contrast, Chinese brands, while rapidly expanding through large-scale marketing and advertising investments, are primarily catching up on brand recognition. They lack clearly defined brand values. Although some Chinese brands have built extensive sales networks, establishing reputations that stand the test of time remains a long-term challenge.

European automakers also benefit from a solid market foundation. They remain highly active in their home markets, where they continue to dominate. Across a broad definition of Europe—including the UK, Norway, and Switzerland—the annual vehicle registration volume reaches 13 million units, making it one of the world’s largest automotive markets. Nearly two-thirds of this market share is still controlled by five European groups: Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

In the luxury segment, Europe holds a clear dominance. All major premium automotive brands originate from Europe.

Europe remains a pivotal global automotive market, with traditional European manufacturers enjoying well-established distribution networks, stable customer bases, and strong brand recognition within their domestic markets.

Brands, Design, and Driving Experience Remain Key Advantages

Second, European automakers possess distinct advantages in design. With a long-standing automotive culture and mature design traditions, they excel at blending historical legacy with contemporary aesthetics. Classic models such as the Fiat 500 and Citroën 2CV continue to inspire innovation. Chinese newcomers, by contrast, lack comparable historical depth.

Based on hundreds of test drives, the author of the Le Monde article further notes that even in the realm of pure electric vehicles, European models typically deliver more balanced performance in areas such as suspension tuning, ride comfort, handling precision, steering feedback, and braking response. Automotive competition extends beyond batteries, range, and pricing—it is also a contest of full-vehicle engineering capability.

Beyond this, European automotive infotainment systems better align with local user habits. Systems developed by Renault in collaboration with Google, as well as Mercedes-Benz’s interface designs, demonstrate superior performance in operational smoothness, menu structure, and intuitive usability. In comparison, certain Chinese models still exhibit suboptimal translation quality, overly complex menus, and immature interface design.

Electrification and Accelerated R&D Demonstrate Counteroffensive Capacity

Finally, even in the transition toward electrification, European automakers are accelerating their efforts.

Volkswagen Group expects to deliver nearly 1 million purely electric vehicles globally by 2025—an increase of 32% year-on-year. Renault forecasts a 63.2% rise in EV sales during the first half of 2026. These figures indicate that European legacy automakers do not lack the capacity for electrification.

In production and R&D, European companies are increasingly adopting practices from Chinese counterparts—streamlining model lines and standardizing components to shorten development cycles and improve efficiency and cost competitiveness. The development of Renault’s new Twingo, completed in just 21 months, exemplifies this shift.

Overall, the Paris Motor Show illustrates that European automakers retain both the capability and the confidence to compete with their Chinese counterparts.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1878975272797196/

Disclaimer: This article expresses the personal views of its author