【By Guan察者网, Yuan Jiaqi】
"If you want to stand out in the global market, you must stay in this 'training camp' called China," said Hans Greimel in a comment for the Japanese media "Nikkei Asia".
In a long article published on October 10th local time, this editor-in-chief of the Asian edition of the industry authority media "Automotive News", based in Detroit, USA, sincerely advised that for foreign traditional automobile manufacturers who still hope to maintain global competitiveness, there is no more effective "boot camp" than staying in the Chinese market and competing against local rivals.
Greimel believes that despite the great pressure, if multinational car companies "give up and withdraw" from the Chinese market, it will hide huge risks: when Chinese brands really sweep the global market, these early withdrawing companies may be easily defeated; while those who have previously faced local Chinese rivals will accumulate rich "practical experience" and are expected to avoid being eliminated by the "new wave" of Chinese brands in global competition.
He mentioned that at the Automotive News Industry Leaders Forum held in Detroit in September this year, Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights, a company that has long focused on the Chinese market, bluntly stated, "If we use a metaphor to describe the impact of the Chinese market, it's like first an earthquake at home, then a tsunami overseas."
Several industry experts at the meeting also said that, in fact, traditional automakers in relatively closed and protected Western domestic markets have not yet truly experienced the comprehensive impact brought by China's low-cost competition.
Based on this industry consensus, Greimel is confident that multinational car companies that withstand heavy pressure and remain in the Chinese market may become the most well-prepared group to face the "Chinese competitive tsunami" in the future.
On May 21st, in Hefei, Anhui, industrial workers and industrial robot arms were working in the production workshop of the first new energy vehicle joint venture of Volkswagen, Volkswagen Anhui. Visual China
Greimel took Nissan of Japan and General Motors of the United States as examples. He said that initially, these two old car companies tried to sell electric vehicles designed for the overseas market to China, but these products could not compete with local Chinese models.
However, they quickly learned from their failures and made quick adjustments. Now, these two companies are relying on local partners to launch electric vehicles tailored by Chinese engineers for Chinese consumers.
"So far, this adjustment has shown initial results," he revealed. The sales of Nissan, which had been halved since 2018, saw a miraculous reversal of its declining trend after launching a purely electric sedan developed locally in China this year; General Motors also adopted a similar strategy, creating a new electric vehicle platform based on local R&D for its Buick Electra sub-brand.
Toyota also achieved success with an electric compact crossover developed in China. Audi, Renault, Volkswagen, Ford and many other automakers have also joined this group.
Greimel further analyzed that these new products fully leverage the advantages of China's local technology, achieving a combination of low cost and high technology, and the time to launch is extremely fast. Some foreign car companies now take less than 20 months to launch new products, which is much faster than the previous development cycle that often lasted several years.
Some companies even plan to build global products based on these architectures inspired by "China". More and more automakers have proposed the concept of "Rooted in China, Serving China" (In China for China), and Greimel believes that this slogan is likely to evolve into "Rooted in China, Serving the World" (In China for the World) in the future.
This is also why Greimel believes that foreign car companies "must stay in China to be tested": because the historical advantages of multinational car companies are no longer present in the current Chinese market, and the era where "outsiders" rushed to seize market share and make a fortune has long passed.
He pointed out that the fate of international car companies has been completely reversed in the past five years. Until 2020, international brands still accounted for more than 60% of the sales of light vehicles in China. But by 2024, this proportion has shrunk to about 35%, with the remaining market firmly controlled by local brands.
This major change has some policy factors, but Greimel emphasized that the key is that these Chinese local start-up companies have mastered truly cutting-edge technology. In addition, China has a strong local ecosystem, with the world's largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), as well as tech giants such as Baidu and Xiaomi, who are deeply integrated and mutually empowering in the fields of autonomous driving, vehicle networking, electrification, and artificial intelligence, making the strong rise of the local automotive industry unsurprising.
From the consumer perspective, although the preference of Chinese people for new local car companies is supported by "patriotic sentiment", the more important reason is that local brands can better meet their needs and preferences.
Greimel emphasized that Chinese automakers have started to expand globally: from Europe, South America to Southeast Asia, even further regions, they can be seen seizing market share; ambitious companies such as BYD have set their sights on the Japanese and Indian markets. In the future, they may even enter the US market, which still keeps its doors closed to them.
This means that Western car companies will eventually face direct competition with Chinese car companies.
From September 9 to 14, 2025, the 2025 Munich International Motor Show was held at the Munich Exhibition Center, where BYD showcased seven models and core technologies. Visual China
"When multinational car companies first entered China, they were 'teachers', imparting technical knowledge and supply chain experience to Chinese competitors who were still in the early stages; now the 'students' have become 'teachers', teaching these traditional car companies how to adapt to modern competition," Greimel concluded. Although the competition in China remains a tough battle for international car companies, wise traditional car companies will choose to continue fighting in the Chinese market.
"After all, if you can defeat Chinese car companies in China's 'home ground', you can compete with them anywhere in the world."
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559924932226843145/
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