When Porsche is namechecking you as a competitor, you know you must be doing something right.
That’s certainly the case for a number of Chinese-owned brands that the iconic German manufacturer recently showcased as competitors in the electric vehicle (EV) space for the new electric Macan.
The launch of Porsche’s first electric SUV means it’s entering a space with more competitors originating from China than any other segment in which it competes.
The photo above is from the launch of the Macan EV in China, where it appears as though Porsche’s global CEO Oliver Blume shows a slide that points out two things: one, Porsche needs to convince a lot of buyers of other EV brands to jump ship, and two, some of those other brands aren’t ones it historically competed with.
The Macan EV isn’t just taking on the likes of Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi; the Germans also consider the Geely-owned Lotus (Eletre and new variants), Zeekr (X SUV) and Polestar brands as rivals.
Also considered competitors by Porsche are SAIC Motor’s IM Motors brand, as well as Nio – both hailing from China.
The Zeekr X is an interesting comparison for Porsche to mention. It’s a car that’s arriving in Australia around the same time, although likely priced significantly below the Germans (starting from $133,700).
Polestar has its Polestar 3 and 4, which are likely to be more in a similar price point to the Macan EV. However, given that they use similar architecture as the Zeekr (which is also designed in Sweden!), one has to wonder why you’d pay more for pretty much the same thing.
If you’ve read our opinion piece about the incredible size and the array of brands present at the Beijing motor show that are headed to Australia, you’ll know that the future of our automotive landscape here is going to change dramatically over the next ten years.
While we have had stable brands in our market for generations, the last 10 years have seen the introduction of more brands than any other period in modern history, the absolute majority of which are from China.
These Chinese brands are coming here not only with new designs and technology, but also with serious volume ambitions for our market.
Rewind 10 years to 2014 and only 4154 Chinese-made cars were sold in Australia. Last year, 193,433 reached Australian buyers.
With more and more Chinese brands heading to Australia with lofty sales targets, that tally is only going to grow.