PARIS (AP) – Automakers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris auto show, aimed at everyone from luxury shoppers to students who have yet to receive their driver’s licenses.
The biennial show has long been a major showcase of the industry, tracing its history to 1898.
Chinese manufacturers are joining in force, despite EU threats to tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Well-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win over consumers who have balked at expensive electric cars.
Here’s a look at the show’s opening day on Monday.
MORE NEW MODELS FROM CHINA
Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporated artificial intelligence technology.
Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact electric-powered SUV, the B10. It will be manufactured in Poland for European buyers, said Leapmotor’s head of product planning, Zhong Tianyue. Leapmotor did not announce a price for the B10, which will launch next year.
Leapmotor also said a smaller electric commuter car it showcased in Paris, the T03, will sell from a competitive 18,900 euros ($20,620). Those sold in France will be imported from China but assembled in Poland, Zhong said.
Leapmotor also announced a starting price of 36,400 euros ($39,700) in Europe for its larger family car, the C10.
Sales outside China take place through a joint venture with Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest car manufacturer. Leapmotor said European sales started in September.
XPENG SEALS FOR TARIFF HIT
Attending the Paris show for the first time, decade-old Chinese electric car maker XPeng unveiled a sleek sedan, the P7+.
CEO He Xiaopeng said XPeng aims to deliver in Europe from next year. Intended European pricing for the P7+ wasn’t given, but the CEO said it will start in China at 209,800 yuan, equivalent to 27,100 euros or $29,600.
XPeng’s president, Brian Gu, said the EU’s threatened import duties could complicate the company’s expansion plans if Brussels and Beijing do not find an amicable solution to their trade dispute by the end of the October deadline.
Brussels says subsidies help Chinese companies unfairly undercut EU industry prices, with Chinese-built electric cars jumping from 3.9% of the electric car market in 2020 to 25% in September 2023.
“The tariff will put a lot of pressure on our business model. It’s a direct hit on our margin, which is already not very high,” Gu said.
VEHICLES FOR YOUNG TEENS
Makers of small electric cars that can drive in Europe without a license are finding a growing market among teenagers as young as 14 and their parents, who for safety reasons prefer them zipping around on four wheels rather than motorbikes.
Several manufacturers of the two-seater showcased in Paris, including French Citroen. The starting price for its Ami, or “Friend,” is just under 8,000 euros ($8,720). Launched in France in 2020, the plastic-shelled vehicle is now also sold in other European markets and in Turkey, Morocco and South America.
“It’s not a car. It’s a mobility object,” said Citroen’s product manager for Ami, Alain Le Gouguec.
European legislation allows teenagers without a full license to drive Ami and similar buggies from the age of 14 after an eight-hour training course. They are limited to a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour (28 mph).
The vehicles also find markets among adults who have lost their licenses due to driving violations or who have never been fully licensed, and outside cities in areas with poor transportation.
Renault subsidiary Mobilize said that even in the energy-demanding cold of winter, its two-seater, license-free, plastic-shell Duo can go 100 kilometers (over 60 miles) between charges. A phone app acts as its door and ignition key.
Another French manufacturer, Ligier, sells its unlicensed two-seaters in both diesel and electric versions.