German premium manufacturers limit their Chinese production to their most accessible models
- The production of German manufacturers in China remains high, accounting for a quarter of the country's production in 2020, in the passenger car category, mainly with the Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes brands.
- However, German premium manufacturers have been careful to produce their most affordable models locally, as the more expensive models are always imported from Europe and the United States.
- For example, at BMW, only the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series and X1, X2, X3 (including the electric iX3) are made in China. The 7 Series, 8 Series, X4, X5, X6 and X7 are imported.
- At Mercedes, Class A, Class C, Class E, Class V, GLA, GLB, GLC, EQC are made in China. S-Class, GLE, GLS, SL and AMG GT are imported.
- At Audi, the A3, A4, A6, Q2, Q3, Q5 are made in China while the A7, A8, E-Tron, Q7 and Q8 are imported.
- It does not appear that these manufacturers plan to manufacture their most expensive models in China any time soon. The total imports of these vehicles represent nearly 400,000 units each year (395,000 in 2018, 370,000 in 2019), i.e. a volume equivalent to one-fifth of what they produce locally.
- The case of Volkswagen is more complicated because the range of this manufacturer in China is very different (and larger) than that offered in Europe. However, Volkswagen imports nearly 40,000 vehicles into China each year.
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