Will the European Car of the Year be… Chinese?
This page is translated from the original post "La Voiture Européenne de l’Année sera-t-elle… chinoise ?" in French.
- 25/11/2023 9:45
Six models from Chinese companies, produced in China, are candidates for the Car of the Year 2024 award in Europe. Nonsense?
This is the story of an election, motivated by a jury with questionable impartiality, slowly sinking. For years. Just as the yogurt, sausage, or beauty cream of the year are chosen in supermarkets, the automotive industry funds a competition where only those who pay participate. Candidates for whom any recognition could later boost sales through legitimate credibility.
Manufacturers, through intense lobbying, flatter journalists and influencers to win their favor, and buy大量广告页面在媒体中的广告，成为委员会的一部分。Thus, the jury of the Car of the Year in Europe consists of 59 journalists from 22 countries. They used to be 61 in 23 countries, but the two Russian representatives are still on the emergency band…
This week, we learned the identity of the 28 cars competing for the 2024 model year, and the surprise is great: two-thirds (19 out of 28) are neither European brands nor produced in Europe. The essential condition to participate: being on sale before the end of 2023 on at least five of the 22 European markets. Talk about a condition…
LIST OF CANDIDATES
- BMW Series 5 (Germany)
- BMW XM (Germany)
- BYD Atto 3 (China)
- BYD Dolphin (China)
- BYD Han (China)
- BYD Seal (China)
- Fiat 600e (Italy)
- Ford Bronco (USA)
- Honda CR-V (Japan)
- Honda e:NY1 (Japan)
- Honda ZR-V (Japan)
- Hyundai Ioniq 6 (South Korea)
- Hyundai Kona (South Korea)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (USA)
- Kia EV9 (South Korea)
- Lexus RZ (Japan)
- Lucid Air (USA)
- Mercedes E-Class (Germany)
- Mercedes-EQ EQE (Germany)
- Nio ET7 (China)
- Peugeot E-3008 (France)
- Renault Espace (France)
- Renault Scenic (France)
- Smart #1 (China)
- Toyota C-HR (Japan)
- Toyota Prius (Japan)
- Volkswagen ID.7 (Germany)
- Volvo EX30 (China)
Note the surge of Chinese brands, which aim to break the psychological barrier for Europeans. BYD has included (at great financial cost once again) its entire range. Smart and Volvo, owned by the competitor Geely, are also present. The same for Nio.
Looking at this list, we mainly realize that none of these 28 cars bring a revolution to the mobility of 400 million Europeans. They are still large, heavy, and expensive vehicles, often inaccessible.
The European Car of the Year is gradually becoming an anachronistic nonsense, stripped of its original purpose: to promote European automobiles. The Car of the Year in China will never be American or French…
The suspense will reach its peak on February 26, 2024, when the winner is revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. Let’s bet it will be Chinese.
We also suggestthese articles:
Also read
