The latest BMW and Mercedes designs  are aimed at Chinese tastes according to both companies marketing people. The irony is that the Chinese brands have hired European designers to improve their own offerings. Nio is the latest and hired BMW's original i brand stylings team to design their upcoming ET electric saloon. You could easily put BMW or Audi badges on this car along with appropriate front end grill treatments for either brand as it is so derivative of current German design thinking, right down to the wheel design.

The German brands need to rediscover their styling mojo in the face of competition like this. European designers have taken the Korean brands from being the butt of jokes to credible and substantial players in the market who have toppled the Japanese brands in many markets including Europe. The Chinese brands could achieve the same results if the Europeans don't fight back strongly. Design, warranty cover and purchase price sell cars to the mass market that Audi, BMW and Mercedes have now positioned themselves in. The switch to electric cars may prove to be the crucial turning point for the Chinese to gain a real foothold in Europe and the US.

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