Arcfox charts ambitious EV expansion in Europe

Arcfox, an electric vehicle brand of Chinese automaker BAIC Group, will invest "tens of millions of dollars" to crack the European market, after two of its models were approved for sale on the continent, a senior executive said.

"Our survey found that in the next few years, the market share of Chinese EV manufacturers will be 25 percent of the new EVs that will be launched in Europe; this is a huge market share, and we are talking about millions of cars that will arrive from China to Europe," said Ohad Seligmann, chairman of EV Motors Ltd, a representative of Arcfox's overseas distributor. "So, now this is the best time to start exploring the European market."

Seligmann said Arcfox's advantage lies in the fact that it is a cooperative endeavor between listed Chinese auto giant BAIC and Canadian auto parts supplier Magna, which has 70 years of automotive experience.

Magna said it has established two joint ventures with BJEV, a subsidiary of Beijing-headquartered BAIC in China — one specializing in EV design and development, and the other a car-manufacturing plant.

"To enter Europe is to establish infrastructure in order to bring tens of thousands of vehicles to the market," Seligmann said, adding that Arcfox will establish a European operation center. "We now need to give and to create an operation with sub-dealers all across Europe."

Seligmann said Arcfox is also committed to delivering efficient after-sales service, as it is very important.

"It's not just to hand over the car to the customers, it's to give the service for the next five to 10 years.

"We are building all the needed infrastructure to give the best services, the best operation with subdealers, and of course, to create an ecosystem that can close the circle. We are bringing the call center to Europe, handing it over to the clients and holding the after-sales service and spare parts workshop all across Europe."

The senior executive said Arcfox is now starting to explore opportunities in 12 countries in Europe, including Sweden, where it is testing its cars during the winter.

"Sweden is embracing EVs. If you succeed in these Scandinavian countries, you will succeed all across Europe," Seligmann said.

A report from consultancy KPMG has forecast that Chinese carmakers are expected to capture around 15 percent of Europe's EV market by 2025, as Chinese vehicles become popular among European consumers.

This would mark a big step forward as Chinese marques accounted for less than 10 percent of the 1.1 million battery-powered EVs sold in Europe in 2022, KPMG said.

Kevin Kang, chief economist at KPMG China, said, "Homegrown Chinese brands have huge potential in the European market and could contribute the most to future sales increases there."

Europe is the world's second-biggest and fastest-growing EV market after China, and is expected to see surging demand for EVs following the European Union's plan to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel cars from 2035, KPMG said.