Report on Chengdu Auto Show 2021

Author: Zheng Wen

Transportation Plus, a media outlet under the Auspices of a group of one hundred, focuses on the evolution of the entire automobile industry.

On September 13, 2021, the International Motor Show (IAA) was formally handed over to Munich, Germany from Frankfurt. The relocation further announced the determination of the German automobile industry’s transformation.

Munich is a city that oozes the automobile culture in its entirety. It is home to the headquarters of BMW and Audi, as well as many top-notch automobile design studios. The attribute of the exhibition transitioned from a traditional automobile exhibition to a travel fair.

It is the first significant event of the five major traditional automobile exhibitions worldwide to resume since the outbreak of the global pandemic. In addition to the main venue, the organizers of the IAA Mobility 2021, the Association of German Automobile Manufacturers (VDA) and car manufacturers, have also decided to move some exhibitions to the city center. They built open-air exhibitions at several landmark squares in the old city to present this travel exhibition as a civic holiday.

“E ZAPFT IS (the electrification has begun)!” became the theme of the Munich Auto Show. This slogan came from the opening of the Oktoberfest, which goes as “E ZAPFT IS!”

The cry of the slogan is like a call to awaken the silent public, to have a dialogue with the environmental groups that are hated or to use the courage to embrace reform, like drawing a snake and adding feet.

At the opening ceremony of the Munich IAA, Hildegard Müller, President of the VDA, expressed her determination, stating that “Europe hopes to become the first continent in the world to achieve climate neutrality and is committed to the future of climate-neutral mobility, which will be reflected at the IAA Mobility 2021.”

Finally, the old-fashioned European manufacturers no longer mention the internal combustion engine and have begun to revise their goals rigorously, speeding up their strategies. What achievement can BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi show off as century-old rivals? What actions can Volkswagen take after their “NEW AUTO” strategy? What ambitions will visitors from the East reveal? Munich has presented the most intuitive answers to these questions.

Different segments and images alternate, transform, and reshape in this cultural and artistic city… After this somewhat less bustling event under the pandemic ends, is the new era really going to take off?

Resolution for Electrification

Munich is the home of BMW. As the host and largest exhibitor at this year’s IAA Mobility, BMW showcased the BMW i Vision Circular, a concept car made entirely of reused materials.

It represents BMW’s “full value chain carbon neutrality” concept.BMW also announced that by the end of 2021, the group’s global automotive production bases will achieve carbon neutrality, and the cumulative global sales of electric vehicles will exceed one million; by 2030, carbon emissions during the vehicle use stage will be reduced by half of those in 2019, and carbon emissions across the entire value chain will be reduced by 40%; ultimately, the goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across the entire value chain by 2050.

Mercedes-Benz, their longtime rival, did not hide their urgency in the transformation towards electrification at all, and released four global premieres of new electric models, including the completely new pure electric model EQE, the new Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS concept car, and EQG concept car. This marks the electrification of all models of the Mercedes-Benz sub-brand and the “comprehensive electrification” of the three-pointed star.

Regarding their determination for comprehensive electrification, Ola Kallenius, chairman of the board of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz, said that “this release is our proof of our commitment to comprehensive electrification. The most important thing is that we are committed to transforming towards a sustainable travel experience. This is not unattainable, but within reach.”

Audi brought the second model, grandsphere, in the “sphere” concept car series, and its cruising range will exceed 750 kilometers. The technology and design features applied in this car will be promoted to the mass-produced models of the Audi brand in the coming years.

Volkswagen chose to leave all exhibition spaces for the ID. series and accelerate their NEW AUTO strategy. In 2025, Volkswagen will launch its first ID. model for the small car market, two years ahead of the original plan. At the same time, by 2030, Volkswagen will increase the sales of pure electric vehicle models in the European market to at least 70%, and in the North American and Chinese markets to at least 50%.

Like General Motors, the top dog in the American automotive industry during the 1970s oil crisis, the Volkswagen Group, which dominates Europe, is doing everything in their power to steer their giant ship and embark on a self-revolution starting from their most adept specialized market.

Of course, during this important period of transformation, the transformation of suppliers is also significant. The booths of large automotive parts manufacturers were scattered throughout every exhibition hall, which was just as imposing as the OEM.Bosch is collaborating with Mercedes-Benz on level 4 automated valet parking; Continental demonstrated its server-based vehicle architecture and related autonomous driving technologies; Magna showcased its eDrive electric drive muscle, which can increase the range of electric vehicles by up to 145 km…

“Anything you worship will take you into its jaws and tear you apart.” American writer David Foster Wallace may not have thought that one day this quote would be a warning to the entire European automotive industry.

Today, the “Old School” car companies in Europe are breaking their own past beliefs and sticking points.

Germany’s growing pains

More than 130 years ago, when Karl Benz excitedly told his wife Bertha, “This two-beat guy may be able to create what no magic can create in the world. The longer he sings, the more magical he becomes,” the world’s first single-cylinder gas engine was born and the heart of the car began to beat.

Today, the strongest voice of an era proclaims that the age of the internal combustion engine is over. And those giants who have stood at high places are having a hard time adapting to their brand new crisis.

Let’s go back four years to the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

That year, BMW unveiled its “ACES” strategy, showcasing the X7 iPerformance Concept, the i Vision Dynamics Concept, and the i3/i3s, which belong to the BMW plug-in hybrid iPerformance brand and pure electric i brand, respectively. Obviously, their determination to electrify the entire lineup is insufficient.

Similarly, although Mercedes-Benz had just released its CASE future strategy at the Paris Motor Show a little earlier, it stated at the Frankfurt Motor Show, “We still stick to the development of internal combustion engine technology.” For European old-school knights, their obsession with the internal combustion engine surpasses that of anyone in the world.

While Volkswagen Group launched its “Roadmap E” new energy strategy at the Volkswagen Group Night and proposed that traditional fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles do not conflict, they hoped that the safest way to make the transition, if time allows, is to extend the transformation period, feed the new energy back to the internal combustion engine, and make a slow turn. That year, European old-school car companies opened the door to new energy reform, but it seems that they have not completely opened it. They still have a half-covered face.Even though it was the last Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019, it was clear that the EQ series electric cars, which took up more than half of the Mercedes-Benz booth, were not as proficient as their combustion engine counterparts, when Kallenius declared that EQ electric vehicles would become the core business of Mercedes-Benz’s future. On the side of the Mercedes booth, the silver Smart EQ fortwo had a range of only 159 km; the Honda e, located in Hall 8, had a mediocre range of only 220 km. (By the way, the Japanese automotive industry was virtually nonexistent at this year’s Munich IAA.)

Nevertheless, they don’t want to change. They have the power to push the giant wheel forward.

Also present were the environmental activists’ protest activities, although this year’s Munich IAA emphasized green transportation and climate-friendliness, environmental groups still believed they were whitewashing environmental pollution. Prior to entering the venue, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess was questioned by Greenpeace activists.

These veteran automakers have too many shackles on them, with environmentalists putting the hat of environmental pollution on their heads; governments are tightening policies to put pressure on their industrial position; and Eastern automakers are attempting to overthrow their game dominance in the era of change…

The East Can See

With the Chinese market becoming the largest single market, many automakers, whether they like it or not, have to regard China as the most important strategic market and their second homeland.

Today, brands from their second homeland of the East have anchored their position.

Germany’s ambition to turn the industry trend around is unabashedly put forth, while the players from the East similarly hope to gain a foothold in the birthplace of the combustion engine in a brand-new racetrack.

Among them, Great Wall Motors is the most direct. In Munich, WEY officially released its brand mission and vision, “To provide global consumers with digital, intelligent, and entertaining products and services and become the true friend of young consumers in the digital age” and brand spirit “On Road Always.”

“Weiming,” said Qiang Sunbing, WEY’s vice president of the European Union brand, at the launch, “as the leader of Great Wall’s overseas strategy, will rely on our leading technology and reliable quality to be the first to enter the German market, and use this as a starting point to open the WEY journey to Europe.”The “leader” of WEY’s conquest of the European market, the Mocha (Coffee 01) PHEV, is expected to begin accepting orders at the end of 2021, with the first batch of deliveries gradually made in the first half of 2022. The first European brand experience center of WEY will also be opened in this city next year.

Along with WEY, ORA completed its first appearance in Europe in Munich. ORA’s landing in Munich marked the beginning of its European strategy. In the next two years, ORA will provide more than five globally leading new energy smart car models for European users. By 2025, ORA will launch more than 10 global debut car models in Europe.

Interestingly, in 2017, when the German “Big Three” hesitated with their electrification strategy, WEY did not hesitate and debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show to warm up for Great Wall’s entry into Europe. Four years later, the ambition has only increased.

Thomas Ingenlath, the President of Polestar Europe, also introduced the brand’s expansion plan at the Munich IAA. The plan is to expand its business to 30 global markets by the end of 2022. New Chinese brands, such as XPeng, LI, and NIO showcased their confidence in their own way…

In Europe, the land of German cars, emerging energy innovators are eyeing the market and hoping to expand their influence. Although Tesla did not appear at the Munich Motor Show, its sales in Germany have achieved a year-on-year growth of 118% in the first five months of this year.

The smoke of the new competition has already spread throughout Bavaria.

In August, Germany achieved a sales volume of 53,300 new energy vehicles, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year. Despite the “chip shortage” background, this data is still considered a relatively valuable achievement.

Except for Norway, the overall car sales in Europe are declining, with the decline range in the main car markets ranging from 15% to 29%. As a single largest market in Europe, Germany’s supply has dropped below 200,000 cars due to the dual impact of epidemic and “chip shortage”, which has also led to the historical high penetration rate of new energy vehicles in Europe.

The penetration rates in the mainstream markets of Norway, Sweden, Germany, and France are 87.7%, 47.1%, 27.6%, and 19.8%, respectively. Especially in Germany, a land that has a general admiration for internal combustion engines, a penetration rate of 27.6% is very rare. “Decarbonization” has entered a fast practical stage.Here, in the birthplace of the automobile industry, whoever takes the lead will claim the ultimate glory. The enemy has already invaded our territory, and the Bavarian giant is determined to defend its stronghold. The rising forces from North America and the East are also vying for dominance in this country where the civilization of automobile manufacturing was born.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.