14
The Economist
April 22nd 2023
Leaders
I
f
fresh evidence
were needed of the importance of China to
the global car industry, the Shanghai motor show, which
opened on April 18th, provides it. The world’s other big jambo
rees have been permanently cancelled or downgraded, but Chi
na’s showcase has attracted 1,000 exhibitors from many coun
tries with 100 new models on show.
Only a few years ago Chinese cars were poorly designed and
shoddily put together. Today they are mostly as good as foreign
ones in both respects, and surpass them in the softwaredriven
digital experience that will define car brands in the future. Yet
for the world as a whole, the rise of Chinese cars will be more sig
nificant still. To curb global warming, it is essential to replace
carbonspewing petrolpowered vehicles with cleaner battery
powered ones. And China is both the world’s biggest market for,
and maker of, electric vehicles (
ev
s).
Vehicles powered by internal combustion
have been a great success story over the past
century, bringing mobility to the masses and fat
profits to shareholders. A handful of giant car
makers have made steady improvements to
their products and assembled ever more com
plex supply chains spread across the globe. This
has brought greater comfort and safety to pas
sengers, as well as low prices. Competition
from Japanese carmakers (which roared into the fast lane in the
1970s) and South Korean firms (which did so in the 1990s)
spurred innovation worldwide.
Today the industry, with nearly $3trn in annual global rev
enues, is experiencing its most radical upheaval yet (see Special
report). Established carmakers are scrambling to electrify, im
prove their software and prepare for autonomous driving.
The disruption is in part a result of Tesla’s success, both as a
maker of
ev
s and as a firm that puts technology at the heart of its
business. But it is also caused by greater competition in China,
where local firms, supported by state subsidies, are winning
market share from Western rivals.
byd
and Changan, the coun
try’s two biggest homegrown firms, now have a domestic market
share of 18%, and sell around 4m cars a year. China’s carmakers
are especially innovative when it comes to infotainment and the
seamless integration of smartphones. A healthy head start and
huge scale, meanwhile, have helped
byd
become a leader in
ev
s
at the cheap end of the market. All told, the competition is leav
ing Japanese firms, once leaders, in the dust (see Asia section).
The world’s drivers stand to gain from cheaper and greener
cars. But can the race for market dominance continue? China’s
emergence as an
ev
superpower is taking place just as the geo
political climate worsens, and protectionism is finding greater
favour in the West.
In America, where few Chinese cars roam the roads, tariffs on
them are already forbidding. In addition, President Joe Biden’s
Inflation Reduction Act (
ira
) uses incentives and subsidies to
try to turn North America into an
ev
powerhouse, encouraging
locals to buy domestically made cars and components. Fears
also swirl that sensorpacked Chinese cars might guzzle sensi
tive data. (China has barred Tesla cars from mil
itary bases and cities holding party meetings,
presumably out of the same concerns.)
In Europe, where Chinese carmakers are
gaining a foothold and planning a big push,
some domestic firms are calling for higher ta
riffs. Politicians want an
IRA
like effort to pro
tect the continent’s car industry, along with
other sorts of manufacturing.
Risks to privacy and national security both warrant vigilance
against the misuse of data by carmakers. There is a risk, how
ever, that these also become excuses for crude protectionism.
That may preserve some domestic jobs, but only by harming a
much larger number of drivers. A sharp jolt of competition from
Chinese carmakers would force domestic firms to innovate
harder. That should make
ev
s cheaper, helping the planet, and
better, benefiting motorists.
Dostları ilə paylaş: