Why BMW and Mercedes are struggling in China | DW News

New sales figures from BMW and Mercedes-Benz show that the luxury German carmakers are seeing sinking sales in China. The Asian superpower is a behemoth in the region, and is one of the most important car markets for automakers around the world. But a turn to electric vehicles and a focus on domestically made cars means Chinese consumers aren't trusting the legacy German companies quite as much anymore. 

Chapters:
0:00 The lack of spending on luxury cars
0:53 Beatrix Keim, Director, Center for Automotive Research

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[shenghaoli]

2:40 So when German buy German cars it is Patriotism, and Chinese buy Chinese cars are chauvinism\nationalism

[airrodgers]

IF this lady is considerd an expert, the German are in more trouble than I thought..

[hamzasyed]

@0:18 So it's unfair for China to prioritize its own companies, but it was fine when the West was doing it for decades.

[anubizz]

This attitude is the reason why Germany automaker struggling, blaming on other than improving their product.

[amiralihosseinibadakhshani]

So sorry to say, but it seems like she has no idea! German EVs are so basic in terms of software and battery’s technology! On top of that the quality of german EVs such as ID3 or ID4 or even mercedes EQA is sooo poor! Plus they are very overpriced… i totally disagree with her!

[peterstockhaus]

This women is a lobbyist. Crediting her as an expert - Director, Center for Automotive Research - is not in line with the values of a tax financed public broadcaster. Believe me, DW. Add the necessary information please.

[dougzhao]

After watching the video, I have to see something from the bottom of my heart as a Chinese. This lady doesn't understand the Chinese auto market at all. Her views are full of Western imperial chauvinism. At the beginning of the video, she laughed contemptuously when she talked about "to make China great again". That is a sign that she looks down on anything happening in China (Asia or Africa ). Young Chinese consumers are becoming more and more realistic and more and more pursuing cost-effectiveness. Chinese domestic brands and Tesla's designs are more attractive to them. Another major reason is that the interior design of German brands is seriously outdated, and even slightly luxurious configurations (digital systems) have to be added to the price. This situation is exactly the same as the evolution of the mobile phone market ten years ago. I hope German manufacturers can learn from this lesson. It is not about government subsidies or country differences. It is about better consumer-friendly design.

[imadkhaliq]

This woman knows nothing about cars period is just a propagandist.

[jdc]

German Ev are no where on par with the high end Chinese EV but at double the price with less contents.

[paulc]

German car industry really in trouble if they listen to this woman.

[johnmarston]

Buy German cars is right and fair, and Now Chinese buying own brand cars is not fair. What a shame!!!

[bogstandardash]

Uk mechanics tell me the modern bmw is full of plastic parts which are made in china.

So why would Chinese consumers pay a premium for "German quality" when they know the parts are plastic ribbish built in a factory down the road?

[filipzet]

As a European living in China since the beginning of the transition to EVs, I can't agree with much she is saying. There is so many attractive Chinese EV models, at great prices, that it is only reasonable for consumers to buy them. It has nothing to do with some sort of tectonic shift in patriotic spending. It would be strange if the Germans maintained market share with all this amazing competition.

[steve]

BMW initial quality and performance is great, but when the repairs start, they don't stop and are very expensive every time.

[jimmytimmy]

Junk cars, highly priced.
Can get a Chinese car half the price, superior quality.

[aanandika]

BMW & Mercedes were trying to make EV, but the main problem is, Chinese EV are far better and way cheaper than Germany, no one want overpriced EV.

[kyroncardwell]

It’s ridiculous the amount of hate China gets because Europe and America got lazy in their manufacturing. China is the leader of innovation and those subsidies benefit people so much domestically and internationally how could you hate on that.

[jayliu]

Technology on par? DW interviewee quality is getting really low now.

[sibaraku]

lol, this woman shows you exactly why European automakers are falling behind. They can't believe that Chinese EV brands have better technology. I doubt this woman has ever driven any Chinese EV. She even thinks Japanese card brands still have better technology than China. Come on. Japan doesn't even have an EV brand.

[IanFong-mtyp]

Over 100 chinese ev companies, 0 use german batteries, softwear, platform, etc; on the contrary.
Even tesla uses chinese batteries.