| The Munich auto show gets underway this week in Germany, but given the strength of Chinese brands, you might think it’s taking place in the mainland, the Bloomberg News autos team reports. Plus: Why small banks are worried about stablecoins like Tether. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up. Time was, the Munich auto show was the preeminent venue for Germany’s biggest industry to flaunt its manufacturing prowess and show off its latest sedans, SUVs and sports cars. Audi, BMW and Mercedes spared no expense in promoting their luxury offerings, and Volkswagen flooded the city’s convention center with models extending from VW and Skoda subcompacts to supercars by Lamborghini and Bentley. Although automakers from elsewhere showed up, the Germans ruled the show. These days, you’d be forgiven for thinking the event—which opens to the public on Tuesday—is taking place in China. The Germans and other Europeans are there in force, but it’s impossible not to notice the growing Chinese presence. At least a dozen automakers from China—including BYD, Xpeng, Chery and Polestar—are on hand with scores of models, most of them electrified, despite the European Union’s imposition of tariffs last year on EVs imported from the country. Chinese automakers have kept growing anyway, adding more hybrid and combustion models that don’t trigger the duties, forming local sales partnerships and committing to transfer some production to the region. Their strength highlights the dominance they already enjoy back home, where domestic brands have surged ahead of foreign ones. In Europe, Chinese brands captured 9.9% of EV sales in July and 5.3% of the overall auto market, according to researcher Dataforce. The biggest, BYD Co., now offers 13 models in the region—double what it had two years ago—and aims to have more than 1,000 dealerships in 32 countries across Europe by the end of the year. In Munich, it’s featuring the Seal 6 DM-i Touring, a plug-in hybrid station wagon with a combined gasoline and battery range of 1,350 kilometers (839 miles).  BYD’s Seal 6 DM-i Touring in Munich. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg To fight back, the Europeans are wheeling out new electric vehicles they hope will recapture attention from the Chinese and reestablish the dominance of German engineering. BMW AG is showcasing the first of its Neue Klasse EVs, a product line that it has spent well over €10 billion ($11.8 billion) developing. The iX3 sport utility vehicle starts at €68,900 in Germany and can drive farther on a full battery than Tesla Inc.’s longest-range Model Y. The iX3 “is the best overall product in the industry,” Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse told Bloomberg Television. He has described the Neue Klasse, which will serve as the basis for 40 models in the coming years, as the company’s boldest shift in decades. Mercedes-Benz Group AG is countering with an electric version of its GLC SUV, which is expected to charge faster and deliver roughly 30% more range than Tesla’s longest-lasting version. The design is less radical than BMW’s offering but features a streamlined exterior and a dashboard dominated by a single glass panel. And like at BMW, the car is the first built on a new architecture that will also underpin myriad electric models. Volkswagen AG is showing off affordable vehicles as part of an effort to create an electric “people’s car” to slow the Chinese advance. On Sunday, it debuted a concept for the ID. Cross, an electric version of a popular compact SUV that’s due to hit the market next year. The model features a 13-inch infotainment display and can travel about 420 kilometers on a charge. VW is also presenting the compact ID. Polo, expected to be priced below €25,000 when it reaches showrooms next year, as well as EVs from its mass-market Skoda and Cupra nameplates. The rivalry isn’t just on showroom floors. Ahead of the Munich event, Mercedes ran a concept car called the AMG GT XX at Italy’s Nardò track for eight days of uninterrupted driving and charging, setting a 24-hour endurance record for EVs—surpassing the previous mark set by Xpeng’s P7 sedan. Just days later, the U9 Track Edition electric supercar from BYD’s Yangwang brand set a world speed record for an EV of 472.41 kilometers per hour—at a race track in Volkswagen’s German home state of Lower Saxony. | 
