China’s Auto Industry Is So Competitive, One Of Its Own Brands Is Leaving For Europe

It’s not only Western brands like VW and Tesla that are struggling to compete with local firms in China’s cutthroat car market. So are some of China’s own automakers, and now one brand, Aiways, says it’s had enough and is pulling out of the country.

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Aiways already has a European HQ in Germany, and that’s where the company plans to focus its sales attention going forward, according to a report by Autocar. There are no plans to transfer production from China to Europe, though. The U5 and U6 EVs will continue to be built in Asia, and imported to Europe where the competition is judged to be less fierce.

Related: Electric Aiways U6 Lands In Germany From €41,001 To Rival VW’s ID.5

The move is partly connected with Aiways’ plan to take the company public later this year, according to Autocar’s intel.

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“The centre of Aiways global sales operations will switch to Europe, and more specifically Germany, following the listing,” an Aiways source told the magazine. “There are no plans to remain in the Chinese market, due to the intense pricing pressure and competition there.”

Aiways ran into financial trouble last year and was forced to shut down production of the U5 and U6 at its Shangrao factory, but it is reported to be on the brink of firing up the conveyers again. It also claims to be working on a new entry-level crossover to give it a lower price point and a better chance of pushing higher volumes.

The report says Aiways’ long-term plans include an expansion to the Middle East, right-hand drive builds for the UK, and even a shot at the U.S. market by the end of this decade. But that last goal looks more ambitious this week than it did last week, now that the Biden administration has quadrupled the duty on imported Chinese EVs to 100 percent.

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