Xpeng CEO Xiaopeng He has no doubt that the current competition in the automotive industry will kill even more car brands. – "It will be tougher than ever," he says.
Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng predicts a bleak future for many car brands. He believes that the period from 2025 to 2027 will be a merciless "excretion race" in the automotive industry. Only the strongest will survive in the fierce competition that characterizes the market.
Especially in China, which is the world's largest car market, a bloodbath is brewing.
As early as November last year, He Xiaopeng predicted a drastic reduction in the number of car manufacturers.
– From 300 start-ups, there are now fewer than 50 companies in existence, and only 40 of them actually sell cars each year.
"I personally believe that there will only be seven major car companies left in ten years," he explained to The Straits Times.
He Xiaopeng's predictions are backed by other industry leaders. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius warned in October of an "existential struggle" for Western automakers against Chinese competitors.
"It's a Darwinian price war and a market purge. Many of the players who are here now won't be here in five years," Källenius said during the Berlin Global Dialogue conference.
According to He Xiaopeng, the Chinese electric car industry will go through several brutal "knockout rounds" in the next three to four years.
That period will be followed by an "all-star competition" in the following seven to eight years, where only the most successful car brands will remain.
Competition in the automotive industry by 2025 will be fiercer than ever, predicts He Xiaopeng in an internal letter to Xpeng employees. The letter, obtained by The Wall Street Journal , describes an automotive industry under intense pressure.
In the industry, which is heavily supported by the communist dictatorship in Beijing, a wide range of car brands are fighting for survival, including NIO, BYD, Li Auto, the Geely brands and Great Wall Motors, all against each other.
He Xiaopeng's predictions paint a picture of an auto industry in constant flux. Only time will tell which car brands will survive the possible bloodbath. Audi is experimenting with a series of cars without a logo. Read more about how it all fits together here .
