Chinese OEMs have moved from 2% to 15% of GCC market share in six years and are launching credibly above €80,000 in Europe — the product argument is won. What remains is the execution argument: the missing layer between a well-founded strategy and what actually happens at the dealer, in the service bay, and in the relationship between a brand and its first thousand customers in a new market. The brands that will hold international positions through the next five years are already building this capability — not waiting for headquarters to approve, not signing the first distributor who showed interest, not treating aftersales as a phase-two problem.

The promise of direct-to-consumer automotive retail proved to be a misreading of the market — consumers wanted a better dealer experience, not the elimination of dealers, and the brands that equipped their networks with digital tools proved the point with record satisfaction scores. The right distribution model remains an open question market by market, but the vision of a fully centralised, dealer-free future is settled: the dealership adapted, as it has for a century, and for a $50,000 emotional purchase, human beings still want to kick the tyres.