Elon Musk believes that the high price of Electric vehicles (EVs) is the only thing holding back their sales.
However, Chinese automakers such as BYD are addressing this issue by producing affordable EVs. This is with plans to expand their sales globally.
At the Shanghai auto show, BYD unveiled the Seagull. It which surprised analysts and competitors with its impressive specifications. The specifications includes a battery range of over 300 kilometers. This is along with and a starting price of just over $11,000. This is the quarter of the price of most EVs on the European market.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas predicts that Chinese automakers will aggressively push entry-level EVs to markets outside of China.
In response to growing competition and economic uncertainty, Tesla has cut prices for the sixth time this year in the US. This will prompt other automakers, including those in China, to follow suit.
However, Chinese automakers are leading the world in producing EVs. Evs that are affordable and technologically advanced for the average budget.
This trend poses a threat to established automakers as Chinese automakers continue to export their affordable EVs to Europe, Southeast Asia, and other overseas markets.
Patrick Koller, CEO of French auto supplier Faurecia, believes that the European entry-level EV market is an open lane for Chinese automakers.
He predicts that due to their fantastic competitive advantage, Chinese automakers could sell one million cars per year in Europe. This is equivalent to 8% of the market in 2022. Koller met with the CEOs or chairmen of over two dozen Chinese automakers in Shanghai, and many expressed an interest in exporting to Europe.