the race for cheap electric cars and the Chinese invasion

The 2024 edition of Paris Motor Showthe oldest in the world, opened its doors to the public with greater interest than it had been showing in recent years and with electric vehicles in the eye of the storm.

Sales of battery-powered cars have fallen in recent months, showing a decrease of almost 44% in August. In the middle, the fight over the elimination of state aid for the purchase of these models and tariffs on Chinese models are part of the discussion.

Despite this, the French sample accelerated with the arrival of new electric models. Especially those that are low-end and have more accessible prices.

Renault, for example, began selling its new model 5 a few days ago, with prices starting below 25,000 euros, not counting aid.

This line includes the star of the Show: the new generation of the R4, now completely electric. This vehicle, with a more adventurous appearance and greater interior space, It will cost around 30,000 eurosbefore applying the benefits that the state grants for the purchase of electric vehicles.

It is a faithful and well-achieved reinterpretation of the remembered model with an industrial past in Argentina. That economical car, ally of the middle class, today seeks to reach the consumer through style. His arrival in the country is possible and is being analyzed.

The prototype of the future Twingo is also exhibited in the exhibition, which also proposes a bet on the icons of the past but supported by a technological cutting-edge image. The series version of this model should appear in 2026 and with a value that should be around 20,000 euros.

But it is not the only French company that attacks the low ranges with electric vehicles, since Citroën showed the battery-powered version of its popular C3 model. In that sense, Peugeot had already been offering variants like this of the 208 and the 2008.

It is that Europe’s challenge, which is also the challenge of the entire traditional automotive industry, is achieve relatively accessible models even without the aid provided by governments to promote the sale of electric cars, something that seems to have its days numbered in several markets.

The thing is that without the state subsidy, electric vehicles will continue to be more expensive than those with internal combustion engines and that will work as a deterrent for potential buyers. And almost all brands have bet billions on moving towards electric cars.

As if that were not enough, the industry China has accelerated the landing of brands and models on European soil: just as an example, it is enough to mention that the Paris Motor Show has three French exhibitors (Renault, Peugeot and Citroën), while those from the Asian giant triple the number of brands.

Among them is Leapmotor, a young Chinese company to which Stellantis itself put its chips and became a shareholder, even projecting plans to manufacture in the Old Continent and dribble around import tariffs.

Leapmotor ya has confirmed arrival for our regionsince it will disembark in Brazil before the end of the year and its arrival in Argentina is under analysis.

Alpinethe brand of the Renault group of sports vehicles, which even inherited the Formula 1 team that today bears its name, showed a prototype that advances intentions: the style of a future model is presented in this concept car.

This is the 390_β (its name Beta from the Greek alphabet has precisely to do with its status as a prototype, still in development), a sport fastback with capacity for five passengers that will seek to be a car for every day, but capable of transforming into an extreme sports car to enjoy driving.

The brand assures that the exterior design is practically 85% faithful to the future production modelso you will have to squint at it to “take out” the hype and get an idea of ​​what the new vehicle will be like.

But the other strong novelty of the 390_β has to do with its propulsion system. The prototype advances a configuration with one motor on the front axle and two others on the rear axle, controlled by a system that manages the delivery of power between the front axle and the two wheels of the rear axle.

Audi presented at the French exhibition the Q6 Sportback e-trona 100% electric sporty SUV. The German brand has decided that all its models named with even numbers will be those that use electricity as energy to move their wheels, and this is its newest example.

Like its brother Q6 (just), it shares a platform with the Porsche Macan. Unlike the conventional version, the roof is lowered by 3.8 centimeters. And although it may not seem like much, it ends up giving a substantial aerodynamic improvement: the Cx goes from 0.28 to 0.26.

But the brand seems to have taken this modification very seriously, since in its statement it states that they were inspired by the roof line of the first generation TT model, something that cannot be noticed.

Inside it has a triple screen setup. There’s a 14.5-inch infotainment system on the center console, which is flanked by an 11.9-inch screen for the driver and a 10.9-inch screen for the passenger.

In turn, it can have information projection on the windshield (Head Up Display) that includes augmented reality technology.

The maximum power it can offer is with the SQ6 version with two motors and all-wheel drive: in total there are 517 horses. And its maximum autonomy can be up to 655 kilometers.

Volkswagen premiered in Paris on SUV Tayrona very relevant model for our region since it would be produced in Brazil and will become the replacement for the Tiguan.

With an aesthetic that remains in the well-known line of the German brand, this new model will adds a little more sophistication with greater use of LED lights, both front and rear.

Its body can offer capacity for up to seven occupants and, in terms of size, it measures 4.77 meters, that is, 24 centimeters longer than the Tiguan and 13 shorter than the Touareg.

Inside it can also carry up to three screens, including one for the passenger, and allows you to adjust the ambient lighting to 10 or 30 colors, depending on the version.

In Europe it will be launched with gasoline versions with mild hybridization, diesel and plug-in hybrids. Prices in the Old Continent are expected to start at 45,000 euros.

Citroën presented the prototype that previews the new generation of the model C5 Aircross. Continuing with the architecture that was introduced with the previous generation (previously this model was a sedan), the model now presents lines that appear cleaner, giving it a monolithic figure.

But these shapes are not whimsical, since the brand announced an improvement of 30 kilometers of autonomy on the road compared to the current electric C5 Aircross sold in Europe, based exclusively on aerodynamic efficiency.

The future C5 Aircross will be the brand’s first vehicle to use the Stellantis group’s STLA Medium platform, inaugurated by the new Peugeot 3008 sold in the Old Continent.

Furthermore, Citroën announced that your vehicle multi-energy optionswith hybrid, electric and even thermal versions for markets outside Europe. The entrance of this medium SUV will be embodied by the 1.2 microhybrid engine with 48 V and 136 HP, associated with a six-speed automatic gearbox.

For Renault the prototype Emblem It will not be just another car in a broad sense. Since this concept car represents the future of the entire brand in terms of style: its design idea will be applied to the models that come later in the diamond brand.

Meanwhile SUV, this kind of shooting brake It is a breath of fresh air in terms of style. The responsibility lies with the design team led by Gilles Vidal, formerly Peugeot.

In addition, this prototype includes two options to move according to need. For urban sections, offers a conventional electric, with a relatively small battery (40 kWh) to control the total weight of the vehicle.

For sections in which greater autonomy is required, it offers a hydrogen fuel cellwhich can be recharged with the same speed as refueling gasoline. The problem today would be low availability of refueling points. Time will tell if it is a possible solution for the future.