Diese Münchner Automobilmesse: Es gibt nicht viele neue Fahrzeuge, aber die Auswirkungen sind enorm.

Never before has participating in a foreign auto show felt like returning to one's hometown in China.

Looking around at the Munich Auto Show, one-third of the booths are from Chinese automakers and suppliers in the Chinese automotive industry chain. The Chinese automotive industry is irresistibly emerging as a new force in the global automotive industry.

There are three major differences between the Munich Auto Show and domestic auto shows:

Exquisite but not excessive. Compared with domestic auto shows that often have booth areas of over 200,000 square meters, the Munich Auto Show has less than half of that. However, in the home base of German luxury automakers, one can see the latest strategic models from BBA globally, and Chinese automakers are also showcasing their best products.

Automakers and suppliers dance together. At the Munich Auto Show, automakers and suppliers are not separated by venues. In Hall B1, the most popular and crowded hall, besides XPeng, Horizon Robotics and CATL have quite favorable locations.

The overseas expansion of Chinese automobiles is no longer just about exporting complete vehicles, but about the entire industrial chain. Even the unseen NIO Firefly appeared at Horizon Robotics, and the Xiaomi SU7 was displayed at the booth of a company specializing in automobile disassembly.

The focus is not on selling cars. Domestic auto shows are mainly for selling cars, while the Munich Auto Show is more like a strategic showcase for global players. Chinese automakers regard Munich as the starting point for globalization.

At this Munich Auto Show, Leapmotor globally launched the Lafa 05 and aggressively entered the European market. XPeng brought robots overseas and premiered the new P7. The combination of cars and robots gives a feeling of a Chinese version of Tesla. AITO's entire brand is going overseas, targeting both the Middle East and Europe.

In short, after appreciating the works of Chinese automakers and the German hosts, one will find that no matter how strong others are, we remain unaffected.

The powerful BBA players focus on historical context. The BMW booth has a large space but few exhibits. One spot is for the first mass-produced car in BMW's history, the CLASSIC 1500, and the other is for the new BMW Neue Klasse iX3. Because the German hosts know that their advantage lies in time, and what cannot be challenged is also time.

It was not until Chinese automakers entered the German heartland that people realized that what cannot be challenged is actually the imagination of mobility.

01 BMW and Mercedes-Benz Finally Stop Focusing Only on Concept Cars

Concept cars are the traditional forte of German automakers. In this edition, BBA did not abandon showing concept cars but showed more restraint. The booths of Mercedes-Benz and BMW are basically half concept cars and half mass-produced cars, with the focus shifting to new mass-produced models.

Actually, one sentence can distinguish BBA. Although they all have the 800V high-voltage platform, the pure-electric mass-produced models of BMW and Mercedes-Benz support it, while Audi still stays at the concept car, Concept C.

It can be said that except for Audi, which is placed in the second-floor exhibition area of the Volkswagen Group and exhibits a single Q3 Sportback e-hybrid alone, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have finally made progress in pure-electric vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz's characteristic is "restraint".

The Mercedes-Benz booth is not large, and only two cars are on display: an AMG GTXX concept car, a 1360-horsepower pure-electric supercar with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of less than 2.5 seconds, and the all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC.

One aspect of restraint lies in naming. The all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC is the first mass-produced car on the MB.EA pure-electric platform. However, this all-electric GLC is no longer named "EQC".

This also means that Mercedes-Benz has completely abandoned using "EQ" to name its pure-electric series and has fully shifted from separating fuel and electric vehicles to integrating them.

In the past, Mercedes-Benz spent a lot of money to create a new image for its pure-electric vehicles, from the closed front face of the EQ series to the naming of the EQX series, in order to avoid consumers associating its electric cars with fuel cars. However, for consumers, choosing between the unfamiliar new EQC and the electric version of the GLC actually increases the decision-making cost.

This time, Mercedes-Benz has finally realized the importance of reducing consumers' understanding cost. As an evergreen in the medium-sized luxury SUV segment, the GLC is Mercedes-Benz's most profitable SUV globally, with global sales of 150,000 units last year.

Naming the first mass-produced car on the MB.EA pure-electric platform as the all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC actually helps to build a good quality perception for the all-electric GLC.

The second aspect of restraint lies in styling. Compared with the previous generation of Mercedes-Benz pure-electric models, this time Mercedes-Benz's pure-electric vehicles are no longer like "big mice". The arched body can minimize wind resistance but sacrifices the traditional three-box sedan silhouette.

The all-electric version of the GLC retains the power and strength of an SUV at the front. The most prominent feature of the front face is the illuminated closed grille and the lamp group integrated with the three-pointed star logo. The roof line is also relatively straight.

Although many netizens have complained that the GLC looks like it has been "kissed" by BMW, finally, the all-electric GLC is a standard and good-looking Mercedes-Benz SUV first, and then an electric vehicle.

BMW's Neue Klasse strategy, which has been talked about for 5 years, has finally come out. The first mass-produced car of the Neue Klasse, the iX3, is on display.

Just looking at the front face, the BMW iX3 has changed a lot. The once-stable kidney grille has become very tall, and the kidney design has shrunk significantly compared to before. The on-site view makes it seem like the iX3 is wearing 3-meter-high horizontal shoes. However, this does not affect the significance of the iX3 for BMW's electrification.

Looking internally, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have finally found their own styles at this auto show, and their products also begin to have the same competitiveness as new energy vehicle startups.

The all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC has three highlights in its configuration.

It spares no expense on chassis technology. The all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC still inherits Mercedes-Benz's top-notch chassis technology. It is equipped with the same Airmatic air suspension system as the S-Class and the rear-wheel active steering technology, with a rear-wheel steering angle of 4.5 degrees in both directions.

On the one hand, this chassis configuration provides high flexibility and comfort for SUVs in urban driving. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz's decision to use its highest-level chassis configuration on the all-electric GLC shows its emphasis on this model.

The three-electric system has finally caught up with the industry's first echelon. It is equipped with a 94kWh battery pack, with a maximum WLTP cruising range of up to 713 kilometers, pushing the charging and cruising capabilities to the limit of Mercedes-Benz's mass-produced vehicles.

It has better adaptability to the Chinese market. The all-electric version of the GLC is 4.85 meters long, 13 centimeters longer than the fuel-powered GLC. The wheelbase of the new car reaches 2.97 meters. The wheelbase of the domestic version will be further lengthened, and a 128L front trunk will be added. Moreover, a 6-seater layout will be offered for the first time in the domestic version.

The all-electric version of the GLC meets the Chinese consumers' requirements for large space and comfort.

After looking at Mercedes-Benz, one can find that BMW's iX3 also has a similar strategy to enhance its competitiveness. It also has an 800V high-voltage architecture and a front trunk. However, compared with the all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, the BMW iX3 has two advantages.

The BMW iX3 is equipped with the same large cylindrical battery pack as Tesla, with a 108kWh large battery. Its CLTC cruising range can reach 920km, ranking first among pure-electric SUVs in terms of cruising ability.

Another advantage of the iX3 is its panoramic iDrive, which can form a 40-inch display area with a 4K resolution on the windshield. Different from the display projection system of the Xiaomi YU7, the driver can clearly see the projection image even when wearing sunglasses.

In summary, domestic players' approach to making electric vehicles is more like stacking the advantages of intelligent technology and three-electric technology. However, for Mercedes-Benz and BMW, they hope to find a pure-electric path that continues their own styles.

Whether slow work yields fine results remains to be tested in the Chinese market. However, considering that the above pure-electric models will basically be launched in China in 2026, the only thing that is certain is that German luxury automakers are at least one year behind Chinese automakers in terms of speed.

02 The Expansion Ambition of New Energy Vehicle Startups

A small detail: There are more Chinese automakers at this year's Munich Auto Show than German automakers.

There are about 30 more Chinese companies participating in this year's Munich Auto Show than the previous one. Among them, there are 14 Chinese automakers, while there are only 10 in the European camp.

Chinese automakers participating in the Munich Auto Show have three purposes:

One is like SERES, mainly for selling cars.

The other is like XPeng, using Europe as a new starting point to accelerate the globalization process.

The last one is like Leapmotor and Avita, using the stage of the Munich Auto Show to complete the global premiere of new cars and create momentum.

To put it simply, at the Munich Auto Show, only SERES is really here to sell cars, and it has even changed its name.

At the 2023 Munich Auto Show, the M5 and M7 were still exhibited under the name of SERES, but this year they are under the AITO booth.

The reason is that SERES launched the AITO brand in the overseas market for the first time, and the entire series of AITO M5, M7, M8, and M9 will be sold in the overseas market.

Brand overseas expansion is to integrate into the local market more quickly.

Currently, AITO has accumulated over 750,000 domestic users, and its brand recognition has reached a certain scale, which is enough to skip the stage of building a new brand in the overseas market.

In terms of overseas channels, AITO adopts flexibility according to local conditions.

In the European market, which has high requirements for brands and technology, AITO chooses to establish a direct sales system to ensure service quality and brand image.

AITO plans to open 50 new experience centers in Europe in 2025, with an annual order target of 5,000 vehicles for the Berlin flagship store.

In emerging Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia, AITO has established a local production system and plans to increase its production capacity to 100,000 vehicles this year, focusing on producing high-end models such as the AITO M9 and M8 to cover the ASEAN and Middle East markets.

XPeng is also paving the way for the overseas market.

XPeng brought the new P7 to the Munich Auto Show but did not announce its sales plan in Germany. Instead, it moved its entire domestic system overseas.

In terms of R & D, XPeng's first European R & D center is located in Munich, collaborating with its R & D centers in Silicon Valley and San Diego to lead the localization adaptation of autonomous driving.

Interestingly, Munich has gathered many R & D centers of new energy vehicle startups, including the Xiaomi R & D and Design Center, the NIO R & D and Design Center, the Li Auto R & D Center, and the Huawei German Research Institute.

At the same time, to expand its global production capacity, XPeng's first overseas factory, the Indonesia production base, has been put into operation, and new production bases are still being planned.