Time is running out for traditional foreign automakers to adapt to China's electric car market, signaling to industry analysts that companies must double down on local partnerships to survive.
BEIJING — Time is running out for traditional foreign automakers to adapt to China's electric car market, signaling to industry analysts that companies must double down on local partnerships to survive.If the foreign brands"can't launch competitive clean energy vehicles in the China market soon, the only hope for salvaging any market share is likely via partnership with a domestic player," said Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights.
"I think to have competitive vehicles in China, companies need to have an advanced driver system that's comparable to what you see on some of the Chinese vehicles," said Stephen Dyer, co-leader and head of AlixPartners' Asia automotive practice. "Domestic new energy vehicle brands are too competitive," Weng Yajun, a Shanghai-based partner in M&A at JunHe Law, said in Chinese, translated by CNBC."You may put in all your effort but still only sell a few cars."
That means foreign automakers must compete with state-owned ones for any local acquisitions, said Yiming Wang, analyst at China Renaissance Securities. He added that the Chinese startups are also not yet at a point where they want to sell themselves, despite operating at losses.