Jessica, reporting from the ROBO-car
QbitAI ROBO | WeChat Official Account AI4ROBO
Chinese automakers arrived en masse, marching right up to the doorstep of the German automakers.
At the newly opened 2026 Paris Motor Show, BYD, Chery, Geely, Changan, Li Auto, AITO, Avatr and other Chinese automakers have taken the stage with pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and high-end intelligent vehicles—the number of exhibitors evenaccounting for 30 percent of the complete vehicle brands at the Paris Motor Show, the lineup was grander than ever before.
However, on the other side,BMW, MINI, PorscheThese veteran giants of the German automotive industry, on the contrary, were absent from this year's Paris Motor Show.
Put 20 years ago, this scene might have been hard to imagine.
In 2006, again at the Paris Motor Show, Chinese cars made their debut, with onlyGreat Wall, LandwindCrossing oceans with several SUVs and pickup trucks, struggling to find a path into the European market.
At that time, the European automobile industry had already accumulated more than a century of heritage, with the names of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche resounding around the globe; China's own brands were still in their infancy, having to catch up in technology, manufacturing, and branding in every respect.
When discussing the purpose of participating in the exhibition, the head of Great Wall Enterprise mentioned the keywordsIdentify gaps, learn standards, and seek partners...", and has long regarded entering the EU market as a years-old aspiration. Although Landwind drove its SUV into the Paris exhibition hall, it still faces hurdles such as certification and has been slow to successfully break into the French market.
Moreover, even if the cars can drive into the exhibition hall, they are still a long way from Europeans' garages.
Unexpectedly, 20 years later, the Chinese carmakers who once scrambled by every means to obtain an entry ticket have now become the stars of the Paris Motor Show, and it is the turn of the established giants to fight back in their own traditional markets.
The balance of offense and defense in a century of the automobile industry has already shifted.
Chinese automakers head to Paris in groups
At this year's Paris Motor Show, Chinese faces were particularly numerous.
BYD, Chery, Geely, ChanganTogether with the full appearance of veteran players,Li Auto, AITO, AvatrThese new faces have also joined the team.
According to Reuters statistics, about 20 Chinese automotive brands are exhibiting at this auto show, which is a numbertwice that of 2024, accounting for approximately 60 exhibiting vehicle brands'One third。
Moreover, this batch of Chinese carmakers heading to Paris clearly is not satisfied with just displaying a few new models.
Brands like BYD and Chery, which have already operated in Europe for many years, are accelerating the expansion of their sales networks and enriching their product lineups.
Some other Chinese brands are using this auto show to further advance their European layout. For example, Changan plans to start local production in Europe as early as early 2027, while Li Auto and AITO, both exhibiting in Paris for the first time, also announced their respective European plans during the show.
On the first day of the auto show, Li Auto announced at its European strategy launch event that it will introduce the Li Auto i6 to Europe under the nameLi 6,in the first quarter of 2027first launching sales and deliveries in the Netherlands and Norway, then gradually expanding to other countries, with plans to bring extended-range models to Europe in the future.
Li Auto also intends to bring the premium positioning it has built in China to Europe. Wu Zuoming, head of Li Auto's international business, said that it hopes to continue thePremiumpositioning from the Chinese market and compete directly with European high-end automotive brands.
Almost at the same time,Seresalso announced that AITO will enter the European market inthe autumn of 2027, and it has already started the EU whole-vehicle type approval process. At this Paris auto show, AITO brought four SUVs in one go—the AITO 6, 7, 8, and 9—likewise preparing to enter Europe as high-end intelligent vehicles.
And on the other side of the bustle is absence—BMW, MINI, and Porscheall failed to appear in exhibition halls right on their doorstep.
BMW in particular had originally confirmed its participation but suddenly canceled its plan in July this year. It is reported that this was due to global financial performance falling below expectations, prompting the company to adjust its business priorities and concentrate resources on other forms of activities.
However,the financially powerful Volkswagen Group, on the contrary, appeared at the Paris auto show again after an absence of 8 years.
Volkswagen even held a special event called "For Europe" before the opening, at which Group CEO Oliver Blume publicly called for France and Germany to strengthen cooperation and jointly meet the challenge of the Chinese automotive industry.
In his view, Germany and France once joined hands to find solutions at critical moments, and now facing the competitive pressure brought by Chinese cars,"it is not too late to act now"。
Facing the large-scale entry of Chinese brands, European carmakers are responding in different ways: BMW and Porsche are absent, while Volkswagen has made a high-profile return, calling on Europe to join hands in the fight.
The postures differ, but the pressure comes from the same direction.
The advances and retreats on display stands are only one facet of the automotive industry's transformation.
The true shift between offense and defense has long since taken place in the Chinese and European car markets.
German cars under pressure in China, Chinese cars rising in Europe
Coinciding with the opening day of the Paris Motor Show, the Volkswagen Group released its latest report card for the first three quarters of this year—
Cumulative deliveries in the Chinese market reached approximately1.379 million vehicles, down30.2%year on year. In the third quarter alone, the decline widened further to 38.5%.
Mercedes-Benz and Porscheare also faring poorly. In the first three quarters of this year, Mercedes-Benz sold about 297,000 passenger cars in China, down 29% year on year; Porsche delivered 21,493 vehicles in China over the same period, down 33%.
This trend stands in stark contrast to more than a decade ago.
China was once one of the most important growth markets for the German automotive industry.Volkswagen, with its joint ventures and rich product lineup, long occupied a key position in the Chinese car market; the BBA brands relied on brand heritage, mechanical performance and luxury experiences to dominate the premium car market.
German cars also profoundly influenced the development of China's automotive industry.
From early joint-venture factory building and technology introduction, to the accumulation of engine, transmission and chassis technologies, Chinese carmakers long took international giants as their teachers.
But new energy vehicles have rewritten the old competitive order,power batteries, electric drives, smart cockpits and software experiencehave become the new yardsticks of evaluation.
Through years of investment, Chinese carmakers have built complete industry chains, and honed their speed and cost-control capabilities through fierce domestic competition, securing a foothold on this new track.
Today, these capabilities are flowing into Europe along with complete vehicle exports.
According to data from the German automotive consulting firm Schmidt Automotive Research, in the second quarter of this year, Chinese carmakers' new car registrations in 18 Western European markets reached approximately352,000 vehicles, a market share of 10.7%, nearly double last year's 5.7% in the same period.
At the same time, Chinese carmakers' market share in Western Europe,has for the first time drawn roughly level with Japanese automakers'。
It should be noted that Japanese carmakers began entering the European market on a large scale back in theIn the 70s of the last century, spending decades building local factories, sales channels and brand recognition. Chinese brands have now caught up with this camp's market share—only 20 years after Great Wall and Landwind first landed at the Paris Motor Show.
Even in Germany itself, the presence of Chinese cars is rising rapidly.
According to data from market research firm Dataforce, in August this year, Chinese car brands accounted for nearly 12% of the European new car market, a record high; in Germany, Europe's largest car market, Chinese brands' share also reached6.4%。
Germany is precisely the home base of traditional giants such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Not only are Chinese cars entering Europe; Chinese technology and manufacturing are also entering Europe's manufacturing system.
For example,Volkswagen, long known for its German engineering system, has now partnered withXPengto jointly develop new models and electronic/electrical architectures, hoping to leverage China's local R&D capabilities to accelerate the rollout of new energy vehicle products.
Similar cooperation is also starting to appear inside European factories. At this year's Paris Motor Show, Leapmotor announced that its B10 pure electric SUV has officially entered production at theZaragoza plant in Spain.
This plant belongs to the European automotive giant Stellantis and is also the long-standing manufacturing base of the German brand Opel, having cumulatively producedmore than 10 million Opel Corsas.
Even earlier, in May this year, Stellantis and Leapmotor announced their intention to further deepen their cooperation, planning to study producing a brand-new Opel pure electric SUV in Zaragoza.
According to the announced direction of the cooperation, the new model will use components and procurement resources provided by Leapmotor's international cooperation system to improve price competitiveness, with a potential production start in 2028.
In other words, a German automotive brand with more than a century of history is considering leveraging China's new energy vehicle supply chain to develop its next generation of electric products.
The relationship between Chinese and European automotive OEMs is shifting: what was once one-way catch-up is turning into two-way cooperation and competition, even a reversal of roles.
Yet alongside the cooperation, in the face of this increasingly deepening competition, Europe is also trying to slow the pace of Chinese automakers' expansion.
Europe sets up new barriers, while Chinese cars "take a detour" to enter the market
Just before the motor show opened, Europe had already taken action against Chinese hybrid vehicles.
The European side stated that it will limit annual imports of Chinese hybrids into Europe to350,000 units, followed by 6% growth each year, with the restriction planned to last four years.
According to European estimates, without new restrictions, imports of hybrids from China this year could reach800,000 units. Using that expectation as a reference, the new quota will clearly squeeze the future growth space of Chinese hybrids.
China's Ministry of Commerce soon provided another set of data: in 2025, the EU's imports of hybrid electric vehicles from China302,000 vehicles, both sides made an upward arrangement on the basis of last year's actual import scale, to safeguard stable growth for Chinese enterprises. The relevant measures still need to go through follow-up procedures.
The two sides used different baselines for comparison, but Europe's intent to limit the rapid expansion of Chinese cars is already very clear.
In fact, this is not the first time in recent years that the EU has restricted Chinese new energy vehicles.
In 2024, the EU imposed countervailing duties on Chinese-madebattery electric vehicles. Since then, Chinese carmakers expanded exports of hybrid models and found new growth space in Europe.
The effect was immediate.
According to data from the German automotive consultancy Schmidt Automotive Research, in the second quarter of this year, the share of Chinese brands in Western Europe's plug-in hybrid market had already exceeded26%, whereas at the same time two years ago it was only about 2.2%. In the first half of this year, China's hybrid vehicle exports to the EU reached 7.5 billion US dollars, about 3 times the level of the same period last year.
The growth rate of Chinese cars has clearly made Europe feel the pressure.
After all, the automotive industry is an important economic pillar for Germany, France and other European countries. As Chinese new energy vehicles continue to expand their market share, competition faced by traditional European carmakers is becoming more intense.
The EU is also advancing Made in Europe related policies, hoping that through local manufacturing requirements and industrial support measures, more automotive production and supply chain links can be kept in Europe.
European carmakers have meanwhile begun to respond actively. Volkswagen showcased the ID. Polo, ID. Cross and other electric models in Paris this year, lowering R&D and manufacturing costs by sharing technology platforms and components, to compete for the more price-sensitive mass market.
But raising entry barriers can, in the end, only buy time for the European automotive industry; it cannot turn the situation around.
What's more, Chinese cars are also changing the way they enter Europe—by "borrowing the womb to give birth," no longer relying solely on complete vehicle exports, but producing at local factories in Europe.
Ready examples include BYD advancing the construction of its factory in Hungary, Chery arranging local manufacturing with the help of a Spanish partner, and Leapmotor producing its own cars in Europe through Stellantis factories…
Of course, for Chinese carmakers, localization in Europe also means higher investment and operating costs, and whether they can continue to maintain product competitiveness will still have to stand the test of the local market.
As for European carmakers, gaining time is only the beginning of the test.
The German automotive industry still possesses solid technical accumulation, manufacturing systems and brand advantages, but the development of new energy vehicles is changing the cost structure, development model and user demands of automotive products.
Facing competition from Chinese carmakers in electrification, intelligence and manufacturing efficiency, European companies will ultimately still need to deliver their own products and technologies. After all, consumers will not keep paying a higher price for a company just because it has a century of history.
Obemmu's remark that acting now is not yet too late is perhaps the most urgent voice of the European automotive industry at this very moment.