In just two or three years, many new, unheard of manufacturers from Asia appeared on the European car market. They mainly focus on electric cars. Asians know how to surprise with the impressive technical characteristics of their products, technology and offer all this at a relatively low price. What about quality and reliability?
What’s new on the roads?
New car showrooms are opening one after another in Europe, with logos that have never been seen before and names that have not been heard: Lynk & Co, BYD, Haval and others. KGM, “Ora” have already appeared in Lithuania, they have started shipping “Nio” models, we should receive the works of the “Wei” company this year. Most of these cars are electric, from China. They are characterized by good technical data and abundant equipment at an attractive price.
Here, the Nio ET5 brought to our country from abroad costs 62 thousand. euros, has almost 500 HP electric motors and can cover more than 450 km on a single charge. The company “Ora”, which recently debuted in Lithuania, offers a compact electric hatchback that is abundantly equipped and can travel more than 300 km on a single charge for just 25 thousand. euros. You can also find more impressive Chinese electric cars at a particularly attractive price on car classifieds portals.
The situation of the KGM manufacturer, which appeared last year, is somewhat different: it is from South Korea, in addition to new electric crossovers, it also offers time-tested pickups, SUVs with internal combustion engines, and city crossovers with higher mileage than its competitors at a very competitive price. Although the KGM name is completely new, it is Ssangyong, which has only changed its name for half a century.
Electrification opened the door for the Chinese
Therefore, the newcomers to the market – Chinese manufacturers – are mostly ignored. The latter have been trying to get to Europe for two decades, but so far all attempts have been unsuccessful.
Europe is distinguished from the rest of the world by extremely strict pollution and safety requirements, so although the Chinese, having learned from the Europeans themselves, eventually learned to produce stronger bodies, they did not succeed at all with internal combustion engines: they were weak, polluting and inefficient. However, with the electrification of Europe, the situation changed dramatically and the Chinese stormed the Old Continent with new enthusiasm.
“For example, smart watches are now in high demand. They can be baked by any technology company because there are few parts: the programmers do the most work in creating such a watch. We are seeing an increase in the number of new companies in the market. However, no young firm has made or will make iconic mechanical watches like Rolex or Omega because they require craftsmanship. It’s a similar situation with electric cars: batteries and electric motors are not such a complex technology, so it’s easy for new companies to produce them,” explains car reviewer Justas Lengvinas.
The interviewer points out that the Chinese are brave with the electric drive, because this is their theme. They currently produce the most batteries in the world and supply them to other manufacturers. CATL, the Chinese battery manufacturer that dominates the world market, is constantly innovating. This allows Chinese electric cars to surprise with their technical parameters.
In a car, not only the engine is important
However, an electric car is not limited to an electric drive, it has many more components, including the interior, the chassis, and other parts.
“Batteries and motors can be pretty good and likely to last a long time, but there are a lot of things that haven’t changed since the days of petrol cars. Will they be as good? Let’s say the cabin can be covered with nice materials, but can you expect the western quality of the old manufacturers?
That would be naive. Of course, looking at the long-term perspective, I have no doubt that the manufacturers that are starting strongly will catch up to the Western level, but now, especially when we live in a difficult climate zone, it is interesting to see how those cars will turn out”, J. Lengvinas thinks.
Specialists looking at the products of new companies are most worried about their durability. In such complex technological constructions as a car, many tiny nuances are hidden, for example, the insulation of wires. Bigger Chinese players like BYD or Great Wall Motors know where to save and where not to, while smaller manufacturers start to show weaknesses after only two years.
For example, cold and salt damage the electrical system because it is not insulated well enough. Quality is one of the reasons why cars from older manufacturers are more expensive. Because this concept includes not only interior materials and sound insulation.
Among the relatively new manufacturers, for example, the Korean KGM brand can be singled out, because it is not so young in terms of machine manufacturing experience, it counts over 50 years and is famous for simple, rationally priced and durable vehicles. In 2018, Porsche overtook Ssangyong to be named Britain’s most owner-satisfied brand. According to the drivers, it deserved the award because of its reliability.
Without service – lottery
Experts also say that it is very important to pay attention to whether the desired brand has a service network. Who will take care of the car during the warranty period? Who will solve the technical problems? And if they can be solved by independent specialists, the question still remains: where to get details after a traffic accident?
For example, electric cars from Nio, BYD and other Chinese manufacturers will have to be transported far to the west of Europe when a technical inspection is required. Great Wall Motors company “Ora” made its debut in Lithuania with three representative offices and service centers. And the KGM brand, which changed its name from Ssangyong, has a long-established service network.
And finally, will new brands survive in the future? Some of them are profitable, but only in China, some, in order to win a place under the sun, are currently operating at a loss, but expect profits in the future. Back in 2013, the Quoros 3 was the first Chinese car to receive a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, but it’s gone.
Landwind, which created copies of Land Rover, also went bankrupt. And so are most others. Today they are being replaced by new Chinese brands.
“I would call buying new brand cars a lottery. There is a possibility that some manufacturers will go bankrupt in five or ten years. Debutante bankruptcy is more likely than any Mercedes or BMW. What then will have to be done with the Chinese car if there is no support for it”, asks J. Lengvinas rhetorically.
