Shanghai (AP) – Stands of large Chinese, German and Japanese car manufacturers were animated at the Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai show while the industry kept emphasis on a larger world market and not subject to American prices raised on imports of cars and car parts.
The signs are that the 25% prices of US President Donald Trump on automotive imports push companies to recalibrate their strategies and, in some cases, find new opportunities.
“When the above governments disagree, this will have an impact on the businesses below,” said my Lihua, managing director of Solding, a Chinese manufacturer of domain control units and other electronics used in things such as reversing camera displays.
The resolution, whose seat is in Shanghai, Ford Motor Co. account, Toyota Motor Corp. And many other world high -level world car manufacturers among its customers. It also sets up a manufacturing base in Vietnam, including the manufacturer of local electric vehicles Vinfast has ambitions to become the main automaker in Southeast Asia.
Many of the dozens of automotive parts and components that exhibit at Shanghai Auto Show have operations covering the Chinese and world markets.
The manufacturer of gestamp metal components, chassis supplier, battery boxes and other key automotive parts, has suffered from a slowdown in American and Western European markets, but is developing in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Prices are now an additional complication, because car manufacturers look at what is coming.
“In the past, supply chains would generally take place as a Swiss clock, but now it is the opposite,” said Ernesto Barcelo, head of the ESG for the manufacturer of Gestamp metal components, about the uncertainty that now dominates the market.
“The lack of stability now is something very … soft,” said Barcelo.
A fundamental criterion for investing in any market is political stability, told journalists Wei Jianjun, president of Great Wall Motor Co. This applies to countries like Hungary, where the company has not yet decided to build a factory, he said, but also in the United States under Trump.
“If a country is not politically stable, it is very risky,” said Wei, who is also called Jack Wey.
With so high American prices, a large wall can be concentrated elsewhere, as on trade between China and Europe, which will not grow, he said. He did not address the issue of rates of 45.3% that the EU imposed on electric vehicles made in China.
Tianshu Xin, CEO of Leapmotor International, a joint venture of Stellantis and Chinese Leapmotor, said that the American market was not its first objective.
Now, “we want to monitor the regulatory environment, and customer preferences are also slightly different from that of other markets,” Xin said.
Nissan Japanese plans to launch 10 new electric vehicles in China by 2027, including nine its own brand and spend an additional $ 1.4 billion by the end of 2026 for its expansion. In the United States, it has the possibility of increasing its spare capacity to compensate for reduced imports due to prices.
“Some doors have been closed, but others have been opened,” said my. “But any plan you make will change you very quickly. The market is changing very quickly.”
In addition to higher prices, car manufacturers and suppliers must also face national security restrictions which are an increasingly important factor in automotive electronics.
Wuhan Kotei Informatics, which provides software for autonomous driving, has adapted its business model to deal with sanctions. From now on, the company based in the center of Wuhan de la China Centrale acts as a consultant and allows foreign customers to adapt software to local requirements, said Ye Xiongfei, director general of the company’s autonomous driving division.
“It’s like I teach you to walk if you don’t know how to walk, and I will help you walk if you are unable to walk,” said Ye.
Some technology restrictions are understandable, but too much “will harm the innovation of the United States itself, which hinders the speed of development of their supply chains if it tries to only use local businesses,” he said.
Some participating in the show said they thought Trump will finally soften his position.
“Trump is a businessman and he hopes to stimulate the American economy by imposing prices on other countries, but I think these measures are temporary,” said Yang Jingdi, assistant to the PDG of Lvxiang Automobile Pides Co., who makes electronics, including mirrors and pumps.
“We will wait and see,” he said. “China has complete and abundant supply chains and it is the United States that does not hold if the tariff measures on both sides remain unchanged.”
AOD technology, which manufactures domain control units that process various commands such as opening doors and control of SUV features, displayed a bare version of Tesla cybertruck equipped with its aircraft – proofs of its ambition to eventually sell to the EV Maker.
It may not be the best time to consider selling these components to an American automaker for production in America, conceded Claire Deng, a main sales director.
But she said that AOD, based in southern China Zhongshan, bought Cybertruck as part of a process that can take years, developing what is necessary to become a supplier.
“Who knows what will happen,” she said. “We want to be ready.”
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The researcher of Associated Press Yu Bing contributed.
