*UPDATE* The Paris Motor Show .... is this the EU OEM's "Nokia v Apple" moment?

Last week I gave my thoughts on the Paris motor show, and judging by the latest trade announcement (see the Reuters quote below) it appears the EU has come to the same conclusion that I did. Even with EU tariff's the European vehicle manufacturers can't compete on price and features with the Chinese OEM's.

Quote from Reuters:?

The two sides are looking at possible minimum price commitments from Chinese producers or investments in Europe as an alternative to tariffs.

?The EU tariff may slightly delay Chinese dominance, but increased vehicle cost does not solve the issue, it just shifts the problem to the consumer. Imagine the impact on OEM brand trust for consumers, increasing the cost of brands with advanced technology risks the resentment of the public. It also casts a doubt on who is on top of technology, able to deploy advance engineering and who is lagging behind the curve. This is key to consumer confidence, it’s the customer who buys the car.

We need to look at skills, technology and synergy of the supply chain to compete in the EU that is the "elephant in the room"

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Originial post from 21st April 2024..

The Tiro team took a departure from our usual technical and engineering tradeshows to experience the glamour at the Paris Motor show.

?We thought it would be good to get the low down on new technology, electrification and future car design architecture. To avoid too much disruption at Tiro towers we did the first train out and last train back on Saturday via the Eurostar. Not something I would recommend, it made for a very long day!

?As it was my first time visiting the Paris show I did not have any preconceived thoughts. Most shows I visit are fully technical engineering, Tiro is a specialist Technical & Engineering recruitment business and our team pride themselves at their tech knowledge. This was my first time at a car show, which lets face it is for the general public to admire new cars, its more of a family day out than an engineering education. However, as a motorsport and high performance engineering recruitment specialist my head has been very much focused in that world for the last few years, so I thought it was time to see what the large vehicle manufacturers, and their suppliers are up to.

?So what did I learn?

?The Chinese are not just coming ……. they are here and setting the benchmark!

?The show’s focus was on affordable EV’s, ?with the Chinese manufacturers showing the larger luxury sedan and SUVs. European car makers showed a mix of mini 2 seater urban cars through mid, medium, sedan and SUV traditional offerings.

?There was a clear message, with the Chinese car makers saying

1. We really can deliver all of this, a feature packed, twice the size car at half the price of an average European Car.
2. They understand a software defined automotive future, together with a profit making tier 1 and OEM manufacturing approch.
3. This is what a uniformed state drive in Tier 1 tech, Battery, Electronic, Software, Domain architecture, manufacturing coupled with the freedom of blank paper design.

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I must admit I came away a bit deflated with what I saw from the European effort. Compared to the Chinese manufacturers it looked a bit behind, it was almost as if I was witnessing an automotive Nokia/Apple moment and it was not looking good for one side!

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Moving forward

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I’m sure there will be some head scratching in the big European car makers, and trade tariffs will only slow the revolution. The Chinese manufacturers seem to be saying “even if you hit us with a 50% tariff we will still be competitive on price and we deliver all features and technology as standard, not added extras”

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It would be really interesting to hear from engineers working in the automotive industry – how do you think Europe will compete?

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1. Is this just my view or a real problem?
2. If it is a problem, who is causing it, the car manufacturers, governments, or both?
3. What engineering talent do the car manufacturers need to ensure Europe can compete?

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Who we are

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Tiro is a specialist technical and engineering head hunter supporting the global automotive industry to secure talent to meet future challenges and change. If you are faced with a technical challenge that requires key business critical talent please message me