From Basel with Beef: The Future of Cars Isn’t German

I spent Saturday

at the Auto/Mobil Basel show, and the landscape was impossible to ignore. Roughly 80% of the cars on display were fully electric, the rest hybrids. The shift is here, and it is not slowing down.

What struck me most was not just the rise of EVs, it was who is shaping the future. Chinese manufacturers had rolled in en masse, all pitching full electric. Their designs? Let’s be honest, most looked like Tesla knockoffs with a “modern” twist. But here is the kicker: they are cheap, functional, and aimed squarely at the mass market.

Korean brands, on the other hand, have quietly positioned themselves as the real threat. Hyundai and Kia are delivering vehicles that look and feel premium at a price point that undercuts the German prestige marques without screaming “budget.”

And then there is Germany. Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, all still commanding eye-watering prices and leaning heavily on heritage to justify them. The Porsche Taycan Sport sat at 175,000 CHF. That is not a car for the average buyer, it is a lottery-ticket dream. For many working-class families, that figure is so out of reach it may as well belong in a different universe.

For my generation, born in the 60s, German marques still carry enormous emotional pull. They were the symbols of success, the proof you had “made it.” But today, for younger buyers, that aura is fading. They do not dream of Porsche because Porsche has priced itself out of the realm of aspiration. Why covet what you will never touch, when a Korean or Chinese EV delivers 90% of the experience at 50 to 80 percent less?

The battlefield is taking shape:

• China equals volume, affordability, “good enough” design

• Korea equals the sweet spot, premium without robbery

• Germany equals prestige clinging to nostalgia, hoping history pays the bills

From where I stood in Basel, the conclusion was obvious. Unless the German giants adapt, the future belongs elsewhere. In five years, the parking lots will tell the truth.