Paris motor show opens with 750 km range claims as Chinese brands press European makers

Opening day in Paris

The Mondial de l'auto opened to the public at the Porte de Versailles in Paris on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. The 2024 edition had been minimalist and disappointing, but this year's show is back with new models and discoveries, and visitors say they enjoy finding brands they did not know. Crowds gathered around the orange electric Citroën 2 CV and the Twingo, which has been on French streets for four months. Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are not exhibiting. The new Alpine appears only as a 1:1 scale mock-up, with the final model due at the end of 2027.

The range and charging race

Electric range and charging speed have become the main contest among manufacturers. Automotive Cells Compagny, a French battery maker, claims 750 km on the road before a charging stop, which it presents as a record. Its product director, Romain Gillet, linked the trend to cheaper batteries:

With the gradual fall in battery costs, manufacturers will be able to install larger-capacity battery packs and therefore provide a higher range to customers.

BYD, described as the electric-car leader, says its new model reaches 70% charge in five minutes, compared with an average of about twenty minutes. Dorothée Bonassies, managing director of BYD France, described the system:

The flash charger, which has a power of 1,500 kW, is unique. We are the only ones to do it.

Electric cars make up 40% of new car sales so far in 2026.

Chinese brands push into France

Chery officially launches in France under its own name, with the Tiggo 7 family hybrid SUV from 26,990 euros. The company is China's top car exporter, and its Jaecoo and Omoda brands made a strong start in Europe. Chery's executives put the rise in the average price of a new car in France at about 10,000 euros since before Covid, a increase they say has pushed out nearly half of long-standing buyers. The brand is targeting 'smart buyers' with the slogan 'for all those who count'. Hybrids are the key battleground: customs barriers have narrowed the price gap, but hybrids, still spared, face possible quotas.

Hybrids made up 49% of French sales from January to September 2026, against 31.4% for electric cars.

Europe's answer and Renault's view

European makers, which have been building cars for more than a century, are defending their position against Asian rivals, after Japanese brands arrived in the 1970s and Korean brands in the 1980s. In an interview on franceinfo, François Provost, director general of the Renault group, said that 85% of French people cannot live without a car. He announced that Renault will raise production in France by more than 25% this year, thanks to the popularity of its electric cars.

I think electrification is the future, for the planet but also for our customers.

Provost said Renault's cars are 'far more attractive' than Chinese models and share 'exactly the same technological level'. He argued, however, that the Chinese ecosystem has a cost structure 30 to 40% lower than Renault's, and that Europe cannot accept Chinese car imports arriving at very low prices.

Models and prices on show

Several launches carry listed starting prices. The Smart #2 is 2.79 metres long, has two seats and starts from 22,300 euros. The Audi A2 e-tron starts from 42,900 euros, while Skoda's Peak, the ninth SUV in its range at 4.87 metres long, starts from 56,460 euros in base form. Fiat's Multiplina quadricycle is priced around 10,000 euros and will be electric only. Volkswagen's ID. Tiguan will replace the ID.4 and ID.5 as a single electric SUV.