Europe’s carmakers began to feel the squeeze in China last month, just as the momentum came out of the nascent recovery in their home continent.
China, the world’s largest car market by sales, has been the main engine of profitability for the likes of BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz car division and Audi , helping paper over structural weakness in Europe.
But the premium carmakers have been vocal in their warnings of declining returns in China, against the backdrop of a slowing economy, limits on car ownership in big cities and rising competition from cheap domestic brands. According to one Chinese dealer representative, “the cash cow is dying”.