New manufacturers have moved in since I last attended in 2024…
A pivotal moment: a tipping point, a watershed even as seven out of sixteen manufacturers who attended the event were from China and who can blame them for taking advantage of the precarious situation in Europe? In the UK, Brexit, tariffs, high fuel prices and production costs with 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in the UK will be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. Excepting Brexit, little rare earth supplies have also placed Europe at a severe disadvantage.
In alphabetical order, Chinese attendees were: Aion, BYD, Farizon, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, MG and Omoda. To clarify, Chery includes the Jaecoo and Omoda brands who have replaced traditional manufacturers of Mazda and Audi who have rarely appeared at Millbrook.
At this years’ event, all is mostly quiet as Hybrids and Electric vehicles dominate now except for a mark 2 Micra with a 3.2 engine shoehorned into the rear and a Porsche – both offering passenger ‘experiences’.
Farizon vans appear credible but I question the strength of exposed rear door hinges when van theft is so rife. Omoda and Jaecoo are good cars with the Jaecoo 7 becoming the UK’s bestselling car in March this year. They are cheaper, have similar gearing setups on the right-hand instrument stalks but the driving experience is forgetful which I could say about most European Electric Vehicles as well. Insurance tends to be higher for Chinese brands as insurers continue to collate repair costs based on models sold within the UK.
The European Commission has enacted theĀ Industrial Accelerator Act, a set of new measures toĀ increase demand for low-carbon,Ā European-made technologiesĀ andĀ products to improve industrial output as well as to protect it.
The way forward is through alliances with Stellantis who have partnered with Leapmotor.
Inexorably, I found myself being drawn to the old stuff – VW brought their own Mark 1 Golf GTI which I did three hill route circuits on, the first two to get used to the stiffer pedal feel. A very low mileage Nissan Micra was carefully driven around the city circuit and reminded me of a 1985 model that my sister had as a first car. Contrarily, I have a soft spot for Fiat Pandas – the most recent model is larger and better built.
I even drove a Higer electric bus for the first time and was told by the instructors that I scored eleven out of ten and guess what, that bus was Chinese – built as well !
