For German car manufacturers, the golden days in China are over

Beijing, Dusseldorf, Munich “No, you can’t watch videos with it,” says the saleswoman in a Volkswagen showroom in a popular shopping mall in Beijing. The screens in the center of the dashboard of the new VW electric cars are only intended for the navigation system. “We believe that the driver should concentrate on the road,” says the seller of the “ID.Store”.

Opposite, the Chinese newcomer Xiaopeng presents its models. When asked what the interior has to offer in terms of entertainment, the salesman rolls over his head. He quickly fetches a small screen from the trunk, mounts it on the inside of the windshield, and a projector begins its work on the parcel shelf. “When families go into nature, they can watch a film,” explains the seller. Inside there is also a refrigerator, an on-board computer with voice recognition and the facilities for a karaoke party.