Marc Amblard reads the Paris Motor Show Chinese brands surge: why tariffs favor hybrids, how Stellantis uses Leapmotor, and what physical AI changes.
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Under The Hood: Automotive Storytelling
October 23, 2026

Paris Motor Show 2026: Can Europe Answer China? – Marc Amblard

Paris Motor Show 2026: Can Europe Answer China? - S2E21

Behind every automotive innovation lies a human story. Hosted by Stéphane Lagresle, founder of The Storytelling Tribe, this podcast reveals how industry leaders translate complex technologies into compelling narratives. Through conversations with automotive executives, discover practical frameworks for making automotive innovations relatable and meaningful. For executives, product leaders, and marketers transforming mobility through better communication.

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2026: Chinese car makers were in every hall.

Two years ago, Chinese carmakers had their own hall at the Paris Motor Show. This year they were everywhere. In this episode of Automotive Storytelling, Stéphane Lagresle walks the Paris Motor Show 2026 with Marc Amblard, Founder and Managing Director of Orsay Consulting, to read what the stands reveal about the car industry in Europe.

Key
Insights

  • Chinese Brands Have Left the Separate Hall

    Two years ago, Chinese carmakers shared a dedicated hall at the Paris Motor Show. In 2026, Marc Amblard counts about 20 Chinese brands spread across every hall, beside Mercedes, Volvo, Renault and Kia. Groups like Chery arrive with several brands at once and watch which one sticks. Marc expects that number to shrink, and sees local production, from XPeng models assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria to BYD in Hungary, as what will separate the brands that stay from those that fade.

  • Heritage and Partnerships Buy Europe Time

    Renault’s new R5 and Citroën’s 2CV revival trade on memories that today’s new-car buyers, typically in their mid-fifties according to Marc Amblard, carry from childhood. Nostalgia paired with affordable pricing gives European brands room to catch up on technology. Stellantis adds a second lever: its stake in Leapmotor and majority control of Leapmotor International bring Chinese cost levels and ready products inside the group. Marc calls it keeping your enemies closer, and stresses that the balance with Stellantis’ own brands has to be managed carefully.

  • Tariff Design Shapes the Powertrain Mix

    The EU’s extra duties on Chinese imports, which Marc Amblard puts at up to about 45%, apply to battery electric vehicles only. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids pay the standard 10%. Chinese groups have adapted their mix accordingly: 98% of the Jaecoo 5s sold in France are hybrids. Marc expects Europe to extend duties to these vehicles eventually, and sees range extenders, already common in China, as a temporary bridge while battery costs come down.

  • Physical AI Moves Liability to the Company

    Tesla’s Cybercab has no steering wheel and no pedals, which makes it a Level 4 vehicle and puts liability on the company operating it. Level 2 systems, including the FSD Supervised that Tesla wants to bring to Europe, leave liability with the driver. Marc Amblard, who rode in Waymo, Cruise and Zoox robotaxis during his years in Silicon Valley, explains how Waymo’s remote operators choose between options the car proposes instead of driving it, and why camera-only systems struggle in fog and glare.

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Key
Takeaways

  • Model trade rules into every powertrain roadmap Europe designed its duties to protect battery electric production, and Chinese groups answered by shifting to hybrids. Anyone planning a powertrain portfolio for Europe needs the tariff map on the same page as the technology map, because regulation is now steering what reaches the showroom.
  • Treat Chinese entrants as rivals and partners at once Through Leapmotor, Stellantis gains technology, ready products and a lower cost base, while Leapmotor gains distribution and European plants. Marc’s argument is that closing the door hands the market to Chinese brands on their own terms. The real work is deciding where to cooperate and where to protect.
  • Spend the time heritage buys on technology Nostalgia brings buyers in their fifties back to European brands, and the Renault 5 shows it works. Marc sees it as breathing room rather than a lasting advantage. Brands that use the window to close their technology gap will keep the customers heritage first attracted.
  • Separate Level 2 and Level 4 in every conversation Marc sees widespread confusion between driver assistance and autonomy. The distinction decides who is liable, how vehicles are designed, how remote support works and what regulators approve. Suppliers that frame their technology in these terms are easier for OEM decision-makers to place.
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Where Technology Meets Narrative

Under the Hood: Automotive Storytelling uncovers the human narratives driving innovation in an industry that impacts lives worldwide. Hosted by Stéphane Lagresle, this podcast explores how the power of storytelling ultimately connects technology to humans.

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