Chinese tariff retaliation a real threat to EU automakers, analyst says

There has been a lot of mixed reactions and the the automakers in Europe are actually requesting the huge review this tariffs because the customer will actually end up paying the price, right? Because that means that this entry level vehicles that were cheap and could be the purchase for the mainstream customer, they won't be available anymore. And I think you mentioned the the retaliation fear and that's real because China is one of the largest markets for many European automakers. And these automakers, they engaged in partnership with Chinese automakers within China to become more competitive in China. So you have Volkswagen working with X Bank, you have Audi with Psychic, Jaguar Land Rover with Cherry. So if you do have tariffs and you do have retaliation, what happens with these relationships? And you also have some European automakers working with Chinese OEMs to become more competitive in Europe, which is the case of Estellantis with Leap Motors. And Renault is looking for a Chinese partner to launch their Twingo in Europe with a price tag of €20,000. So it's, if you have a a trade war at this moment in a retaliation in China, this could definitely risk the profitability and the partnerships made by the European audience. And of course, sorry, no, no, I'm, I'm, I'm sorry to, to interrupt my team, but I was wondering, does that mean that everybody's literally going to be just stamping on each other's foot to try and get ahead here when perhaps more cooperation should actually be happening in order to grow the entire market? But can you do that when these brands obviously want to have a specific edge over each other? That's a, a very good point. And yes, you have to cooperate in some parts. I mean, I think this is one of the things that the auto industry needs to learn from all the industries, right? It's reaching a point in which you can't do everything and thrive but on your own, right? We're living in a globalized world. We are seeing a digitalization of ecosystems. We are seeing that the customers want a car that is obtainable, that's upgradable, not just electric, right? And you can't do that all on your own. There's so many challenges and so many investments the OEMs have to make in new technology. So they need to cooperate. And it's not just with local carmakers. They need to cooperate with foreigner carmakers as well. So China is ahead of the curve when it comes to software functionalities in their cars and their platforms, the battery technology. So the European OEMs, they have to rely on this, this partnership and this collaboration to remain competitive. And can you collaborate and you still have your unique competitive advantages? Yes, you can. You can collaborate in areas that don't drive unique value to the customer that you put on top and that's your brand value. But you need to have a collaboration. Building walls at this moment, it's going to harm everyone.