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The 2024 Paris Auto Show officially opened on October 14th, with Chinese automakers such as BYD, Zero Run, and XPeng continuing to make efforts in the European market.

Electric vehicles became the focus of the exhibition, with some companies also bringing hydrogen products, such as Renault Group's Renault 4 E-Tech electric vehicle and Stellantis Group's Alpine brand Alpenglow Hy6.

However, affected by the high tariffs of the European Union, Chinese electric vehicles exported to Europe need to pay a tariff of up to 45.3%.

Despite the pressure, Chinese automakers are still showcasing their strength at the Paris Auto Show, such as BYD's Sea Lion 07, Zero Run's Zero Run B10, etc.

In addition, GAC Group, Skyworth Auto and other domestic automakers also participated in the Paris Auto Show, showcasing the globalization strategy of Chinese brands.

On October 14th local time, the Paris Auto Show officially opened. In addition to the French carmaker Renault Group, Stellantis Group, BMW, Volkswagen Group, Kia, Ford, Tesla and others also appeared.

As for Chinese automakers, facing the EU's high tariffs, they continue to make efforts in the European market. BYD, Zero Run, XPeng, Seres, GAC Group, Dongfeng Xingxing, Hongqi, SAIC Maxus, Skyworth, Iveco and other Chinese automakers participated in the exhibition.

European car companies are fully focused on electric.

The Paris Auto Show is held every two years, alternating with the Munich Auto Show in Germany. The 2020 Paris Auto Show was canceled due to the epidemic, and the 2022 Paris Auto Show's exhibitors were mainly French brands, just as the 2023 Munich Auto Show mainly relied on the "three horses" of the German automotive industry to support the scene.

By 2024, perhaps because the annual Geneva Auto Show has officially announced that it will no longer be held, the top auto shows in Europe are only the Paris Auto Show and the Munich Auto Show. Compared with the previous ones, the 2024 Paris Auto Show seems to be a bit more lively. As the host, Renault Group, and half-host Stellantis Group, German Volkswagen Group and BMW, as well as American Ford, Tesla, Korean Kia and others also came to the show. Electric vehicles have become the focus of the exhibition, and some companies have also brought hydrogen products.

First look at the Renault Group, with four major brands (Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Mobilize) bringing 7 world premiere models and 2 concept cars. Including Renault 4 E-Tech electric vehicle, which will join Renault 5 and the upcoming new generation Twingo to promote the brand's electric offensive. The Renault Emblème concept car, which claims to reduce carbon by 90%, also made its global debut, showing Renault's many explorations in the field of carbon reduction.

Dacia brand displayed a full range of models, including the new generation Duster, the new generation Spring, and introduced a new C-class car Bigster. The Sandrider prototype car that will compete in the Dakar Rally and the World Rally Championship from 2025 also came to the scene. As for the Alpine brand, the Alpenglow Hy6 made its global debut, equipped with the brand's new six-cylinder hydrogen engine. Mobilize also made its global debut with the production models of Duo and Bento, the former is an electric four-wheeler, and the latter is a micro multi-functional car for urban and suburban environments.

Looking at the multi-national Stellantis Group, it brought the French brand Peugeot, Citroen, and the Italian supercar brand Alfa Romeo to the exhibition, and made its first public appearance with the Zero Run brand, to show their "next generation affordable electric mobility products". The exhibition lineup composed of these 4 brands displayed a total of 26 cars, including 5 world premiere models.

Specifically, the global premiere of the new Peugeot E-408 made Peugeot's high-performance pure electric car reach 12 models, and the long-range versions of the E-3008 and E-5008 hatchback SUVs also appeared, with a range of up to 700 kilometers and 668 kilometers respectively. Citroen brand brought 3 world premiere models, the pure electric version of C3 and C3 Aircross were exhibited for the first time and opened to the public. The same appeared with 4 Zero Run electric car models, among which Zero Run B10 made its global debut.

It is also worth mentioning that German car companies returned to the Paris Auto Show, Volkswagen Group brands Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and BMW Group brought their respective exhibits. Among them, this Paris Auto Show is an important result display of BMW Group's entry into a new stage of electrification, bringing more than 15 pure electric vehicles, covering most of the product lines of BMW and MINI brands. The BMW new generation concept car and the BMW new generation X concept car made their debut on the same stage for the first time. According to the plan, the BMW new generation models will be produced globally from 2025, and the first new generation model in the Chinese market will be produced in Shenyang in 2026.

As for the Volkswagen Group, the Skoda Elroq with a range of nearly 600 kilometers, the performance version of Audi's pure electric sedan A6 e-tron - S6 e-tron, the performance version of Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer - Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer GTX, the performance version of Volkswagen ID.3 - Volkswagen ID.3 GTX and other new cars also appeared on the booth. Skoda Elroq

In addition, Ford, Tesla, Kia and others also came to the show. Among them, Tesla appeared at the Paris Auto Show after 6 years, bringing its products. The Kia brand made its European debut with its EV3 pure electric compact SUV. As for Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai Motor, and Japanese car companies, they were absent from this Paris Auto Show.

Chinese car brands gather in large numbers

Different from the multinational car companies that have reached a certain level of globalization, Chinese car companies are in the expansion stage of going global and are very keen to participate in major international auto shows. I still remember that at the 2023 Munich Auto Show, Chinese brands were in the limelight, but then came the suppression. Just a few days after the Munich Auto Show ended, the EU threatened to start an anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese electric vehicles, and by July this year, a temporary anti-subsidy tax was imposed, with a general tax rate of 17%-35.3%. In addition to the 10% basic tariff, Chinese electric vehicles exported to Europe need to pay a tariff of up to 45.3%.

Despite the high anti-subsidy tariffs of the EU, Chinese car companies do not intend to give up the European market, and the many Chinese exhibitors at this Paris Auto Show are the most obvious evidence. As the "big brother" of the domestic electric vehicle market, BYD will naturally not be absent from this Paris Auto Show. BYD brought the Sea Lion 07, which is targeted at Tesla's Model Y. The car has already been launched in China and plans to enter the European market in 2025. Before that, BYD has launched several models in Europe.

Zero Run Automobile entered the European market in September this year with its C10 SUV and T03 city electric vehicle, and launched a new car Zero Run B10 at the auto show. This is the first global model based on the Zero Run LEAP3.5 architecture B platform. Zero Run Automobile revealed that the B platform is an important part of its globalization strategy, planning to launch several models by 2025. Relying on Stellantis Group, Zero Run Automobile hopes to increase its overseas sales.

XPeng Automobile brought the new P7+, XPeng MONA M03, and G6, G9, X9 and other family models to the show. Hongqi brought the latest pure electric works - EH7, EHS7 models. Seres under the AITO brand brought the new M7, which is its first public appearance overseas. GAC Group displayed several models, including GAC Trumpchi ES9, E9 two PHEVs, and GAC Aion's second-generation AION V, AION Y PLUS, HYPTEC SSR, HYPTEC HT four pure electric models. Skyworth Automobile, which is not very present in China, brought SKYHOME and EV6, as well as two new models to the auto show.