BEIJING – First time for Swedish electric car logo CEO Polestar at this month’s Beijing Auto Show: a two-week quarantine at a hotel.
The auto show, the first in-person major sales occasion for any industry since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, opens Saturday in a sign that the ruling Communist Party is convinced China has contained the disease. However, automakers face extensive antivirus checks. add quarantine for visitors and restrictions on the number of people on an occasion that regularly fills with spectators
“The engine screen will in fact be different from any other engine screen,” said Thomas Ingenlath of Polestar, owned by Chinese company Geely Holding, by phone from his hotel room in Tianjin, east of Beijing.
The willingness of car brands to meet the demanding logistical situations of the exhibition underscores the importance of China, its largest market. Losses.
“China is the only hope for many global automakers,” said John Zeng of LMC Automotive Consulting. “In fact, they are counting on China for results. “
Ford Motor Co. , General Motors Co. , BMW AG and other brands are advancing with the world and Chinese debuts of electric SUVs, luxury coupes and futuristic concept cars. Some occasions streamed online to succeed in a wider audience.
Nissan Motor CEO Makoto Uchida Co. , and other executives plan to watch videos from their home countries. Most brands rely on Chinese painters or foreign managers who paint full-time in the country to run their screens while keeping in touch with the audience to a minimum.
China’s auto industry has recovered largely since the ruling party declared victory over the disease in March and allowed the reopening of factories and dealerships.
In August, sales rose 6% from the previous year; meanwhile, purchases in the US are in the middle of the world. But it’s not the first time They decreased by 9. 5% from pre-pandemic levels, while sales in Europe plummeted by 17. 6%.
Automakers are responding through cuts and operations.
Nissan has final plants in Spain and Indonesia and is cutting production by 20% after reporting a loss of $6. 2 billion for the year ending In March. The Renault SA Group is cutting 15,000 jobs internationally and withdrew in April from its joint venture with the state. owned by Dongfeng Motor Co.
For costs, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and PSA Peugeot Citroen need to merge and create the world’s fourth largest automaker, but they face research by European regulators to see if this will create undue competition.
In China, the pandemic has accelerated the consolidation of a fragmented industry with dozens of competition by forcing a number of small local brands to exit the market and large corporations to alliances, Zeng said.
“This will replace the long-term landscape,” he said.
China’s major car fairs, held in Beijing and Shanghai each year, are the most important occasions in the industry, attracting all global automakers and dozens of new but ambitious Chinese brands.
The last Beijing Motor Hall in 2018 featured 1,200 exhibitors from 14 countries and 820,000 visitors, for organizers.
This month’s event, postponed until March, follows a smaller car show in July in the western city of Chengdu, with 120 exhibitors, which verifies anti-virus measures.
The Beijing city government has asked automakers to restrict the number of visitors they invite, but it has not yet specified how many people will be allowed to enter the 200,000 square meter (2. 2 million square foot) exhibition. The city stipulates that everyone in the living room must remain separated by at least 1 meter (three feet).
Zeng, the industry analyst, said he would skip the automatic display because if he left his home in Shanghai, his children would have to be quarantined after his return.
Polestar’s Ingenlath was revised for coronavirus before he was allowed to board a plane in Stockholm, and underwent momentary control after landing on September 5 in Tianjin, one of many cities where foreign visitors are quarantined before they could travel to Beijing, the Chinese capital.
“Really, to convey the excitement and pastime by the brand, you can’t do that even with all the fashionable means we have,” Ingenlath said. “So I’m going to spend a month. “
Polestar, who came here from Swedish company Volvo Cars in 2017 as an independent brand, is one of dozens of manufacturers making plans to showcase electric vehicles, from established global giants to independent Chinese competitors, adding BYD Auto Co. NIO.
The Communist Party needs to make China a leader in generation and has used subsidies and other bureaucracy to reshape it and make it the largest electric vehicle market, roughly part of global sales. electric vehicle manufacturers in 2018.
Ingenlath said he brought books but had little time to read between paintings and relationships with colleagues by phone, email and video.
“I’ve been through a pretty complicated general painting routine,” he says.
Ingenlath’s 13-year-old daughter interviewed him for an elegant presentation about his 40s. Forbidden to leave his room, he spends two hours a day lifting weights and doing gymnastics “just to go crazy”.
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