Chinese manufacturers are years ahead of European firms in the development of cheap electric vehicles (EVs), Renault boss Luca de Meo has claimed.
Echoing murmurings at the IAA Mobility conference in Munich, de Meo signalled the likes of BYD, NIO Inc and Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) have got the jump on European rivals in building such models, with their cheaper offerings set to pose a challenge.
“We have to close the gap on costs with some Chinese players that started on electric vehicles a generation earlier,” he said.
“China is very competitive when it comes to the supply chain of electric vehicles […] we need to catch up fast.”
The trio of US-listed Chinese manufacturers have been among those pushing into the European market in recent years.
According to auto consultancy Inovev, the share of Chinese-produced cars sold in Europe has jumped from 4% in 2021, to 8% this year.
Given heated competition in China itself, where EV giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has led price cuts this year, shifting focus to Europe has left the likes of Renault and BMW warning over a growing price war.
BMW AG (ETR:BMW) chief executive Oliver Zipse slated the continent’s upcoming 2035 ban on the sale of combustion cars at the event, arguing the move was already piling pressure on carmakers.
“The base car market segment will either vanish or will not be done by European manufacturers,” he said in Munich, hinting at higher production costs compared to Chinese rivals.