BAIC BJEV’s high-end new energy vehicle brand is ready for the European market.
Arcfox is a high-end new-energy vehicle (NEV) brand of the Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., (BJEV), a subsidiary of the Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC Group), a backbone enterprise in China’s automobile industry headquartered in Beijing. This year, with the NEV market booming, Arcfox has begun its foray into the European market.
In March, it signed a contract to supply the first batch of 200 NEVs to 3B95, a subsidiary of the renowned Spanish automotive dealer group Mebauto, which operates over 100 automotive dealerships covering the central and southern European markets. The move is not only a key step in Arcfox’s globalization strategy, but also an important milestone in the BAIC Group’s international development.
The ARCFOX aT5, a new energy vehicle of Arcfox, is introduced at the China Auto Show in Shanghai on August 8, 2024.
A Foothold in Europe
Wang Aiqiang, product marketing director of Arcfox Automobile, told China Today the cooperation between Arcfox and Spanish car dealer group Mebauto began last year.
At that time, Arcfox was seeking partners to gain a foothold in the highly competitive European NEV market. After multiple rounds of consultations, it and Mebauto reached consensus in a number of key areas, including logistics, bonded warehousing, and cooperation with local taxi associations. Both paid great attention to port logistics and warehousing arrangements to ensure that Arcfox can enter the Spanish market smoothly and sell there quickly.
“The agreement clarified the future distribution and service network construction plan, and we’ve set the goal of gradually expanding to the wider European market. This has laid a solid foundation for Arcfox to further expand in the European market,” Wang added.
Arcfox is making full use of the local resources of its partner and distributor. In the initial stage, it relied on the superior resources of its local partner in talents, market networks and material support.
As the market gradually expands, Arcfox plans to set up representative offices or sales companies in Europe to better support market operations and explore establishing a production base. These measures are meant to speed up its market response, hire more international talents locally, and provide strong support for the subsequent brand globalization strategy.
Wang said Arcfox has achieved effective integration of resources in the process of internationalization, which will facilitate subsequent market expansion in other European countries.
In the next step, the company hopes to enhance awareness of its brand and influence in the global market. To ensure that, it has participated in international automobile exhibitions and industry forums, and carried out other brand promotion activities in the international market.
“We have mobilized the entire BAIC Group to promote the globalization of Arcfox,” Wang said, adding that a dedicated and experienced international business team has been established.
Breaking Barriers with Strategy
Wang says the biggest challenge for Arcfox to enter the international market is the international trade barriers. Each market has its own regulations and standards. Especially in the European and American markets, there are harsh penalties for dumping and countervailing investigations. “We think these are the challenges we must face head-on. We are confident that we can surmount these restrictions,” he said.
Before entering new markets, Arcfox does in-depth research on the laws and regulations of the target countries or regions to ensure that its products and business models are fully compliant. For example, in the European market, the company paid special attention to the EU’s environmental standards, subsidy policies and antitrust regulations. This compliance inspection beforehand helps it quickly adapt to the local regulatory environment after entering the market and avoid legal risks.
Cooperation with leading international automobile manufacturing and technology
companies is an important way to break through trade restrictions. Born out of BAIC’s collaboration with Magna, the Canadian auto parts manufacturer, Arcfox is a typical example. It leverages Magna’s influence and resources in the European and Latin American markets to enhance its market competitiveness. This kind of cooperation helps it to better integrate into the local industrial ecosystem, thereby reducing the impact of trade barriers.
Support from one’s own government and industry associations at home is equally crucial for enterprises to deal with international trade barriers. The Chinese government and industry associations have been fighting for the rights and interests of Chinese companies on the international stage, such as helping companies respond to anti-dumping investigations and tariff increases in European and American markets. Through industry alliances, greater synergy can be developed to negotiate with European and American governments and companies, reducing restrictions on their export business.
However, in the final analysis, the key to breaking through trade barriers lies in technology and service. For Arcfox, to stand out in the fierce international competition and win the trust of customers, it needs to improve the technical and service levels of its products. Competitiveness is the most effective way to deal with external constraints.
Arcfox NEVs are chosen by many families because they are spacious.
Walking into the Future Hand in Hand
The birthplace of Arcfox, BAIC Blue Valley Magna Automotive Co., Ltd. is a high-end NEV joint venture between the BAIC Group and Magna. This cooperation model has benefited from receiving advanced production technology, which has improved the product quality and reliability of Arcfox in the international market. Situated in Zhenjiang City in east China’s Jiangsu Province, the joint venture is home to a new generation of intelligent NEVs. Following the Magna factory concept, or MAFACT, a set of guidelines to reduce cost and improve quality, efficiency and safety while boosting innovation and sustainability have been formulated. The factory undertakes stamping – using specialized dies that press sheets of metal into precisely the right form, car body work, painting, and the final assembly, and 97 percent of the work is automated.
The factory has a flexible production line that can produce both all-steel bodies and steel-aluminum hybrid bodies for different models. The manufacturing is entirely digitalized and recorded throughout the entire process. For items even as small as a bolt, the manufacturing process can be controlled and traced throughout its production cycle. All data of a vehicle during the production process is recorded in the database and retained for at least 20 years.
Power batteries are the core component of NEVs, directly impacting their quality and value. Arcfox has a collaboration with well-known domestic battery maker CATL to ensure it has high-end battery resources in the industrial chain.
