How the tables turned. Historically, Chinese cars have been nothing to write home about, and Chinese car companies have relied heavily on knowledge shared by Western, Japanese and Korean partners. Now, China is the world’s largest exporter of cars, and the rest of the world is scrambling to understand how domestic car companies have managed to make electric cars so cheap, so good, and so fast to market.
Because Chinese giants like BYD and Geely are already taking Europe and South America by storm, there’s good reason to believe the US is next.
Automakers, from Ford to Rivian, have purchased Chinese electric cars and measured them to reveal their secrets, a common practice throughout the auto industry.
Lucid Motors has also been testing and tearing down Chinese cars to better understand and learn from the competition, Eric Bach, the startup’s chief engineer, told InsideEVs in a recent interview. They have a lot of strengths, he said, so it would be silly to ignore that, especially as the company ramps up new offerings like the Gravity SUV and upcoming more affordable models.
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Lucid Motors
“They have core strengths in digital,” Bach said. “They have tremendous speed capabilities and an amazing work ethic that gives them a lot of products. And they’ve obviously got government subsidies that have created tremendous competitive power in China. And they’re about to try to figure out how to go global.” “
“If you’re not aware of that, it’s like living in oblivion and that’s not right,” he said.
The company has the Nio and Zeekr, and has ordered the Xiaomi SU7, David Lickvold, who leads Lucid’s vehicle dynamics team, told us this month. Bach said that every Chinese brand has its strengths and weaknesses.
Overall, though, Chinese automakers are crushing it in two key ways. Something that may be surprising to some is the craftsmanship.
“If you look at the maturity and refinement of the exterior or interior, you can find some competitors out there that show a very high level of execution,” Bach said. “And I think it’s really important to acknowledge that the Chinese competition is not bad in terms of quality.”
One model that exemplifies this is the SU7, he said. Consumer technology company Xiaomi’s first-ever car has proven very popular in China, and has come to symbolize, in a sense, what China is capable of. The four-door Porsche Taycan, sometimes called the “China Apple Car,” has received a lot of praise from Ford CEO Jim Farley.
China also excels in terms of digital features and infotainment software, Bach said, adding that Lucid is working on that trend with the Gravity, an SUV that has just begun production. This car has a sprawling, curved screen and an all-new infotainment system that addresses some of the sluggishness of Lucid’s previous software.
The interior of a GU car.
“What (Chinese companies) have, maybe a little bit more, is more people programming more hours a week, it seems, so production is really high,” he said. “And we have to measure ourselves there and strive to be fast and creative.”
GEU, a joint effort between Chinese auto group Geely and Baidu Technology Co., which makes vehicles it calls “robocars,” has impressed with its digital experience, especially navigation, voice commands and advanced driver-assistance systems. (This company has since faced problems of its own, proving once again that while Chinese automakers are impressive, they are not invincible — or above the same problems that could affect many newcomers in the automotive space. electrical.)
Bach said Chinese companies tend to fail at driving dynamics and performance.
“I think the whole package comes together just at Lucid, and we were going to work hard to keep it that way,” Bach said.
He has to do it. Because while Chinese automakers remain stymied in the U.S. by tariffs and regulation for now, that may not be the case forever — and Lucid could face its more formidable direct competition at a time when it’s still trying to ramp up mass production of Its most important electric vehicles.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
