Bentley provided flights from New York to San Francisco and accommodation so Ars could attend Monterey Car Week. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. If the Tesla Model S prodded the legacy car companies to get on top of battery production and introduce iPad-like screens in cars, Chinese car companies are bringing the heat for what's left of the 2020s in all segments. Much of the media coverage has rightly been on how this trend will affect mass-market vehicles. But what does it mean at the high end of the market? "Well, the first question would be 'Are the Chinese manufacturers really competitive?'" said Bentley Chairman and CEO Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser in an interview during Monterey Car Week. In the bucolic coastal setting, surrounded by the rarest of rare cars, the competition from the other side of the world appeared far off. "I don't want to be arrogant, but having what is considered a car in the luxury segment needs more than just technology. It's honestly only Germany, Italy, and the UK. You need heritage, you need the craftsmanship behind, you need the storytelling and everything with it. That builds up an actual brand." But is a story enough to stand the test of time for the early 20th-century icons Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Maybach? China's whip-fast advances in tech and manufacturing are testing that theory. Chinese automakers are selling EV cars both domestically in China and in Europe. On the left, EXP 15, on the right, the Blue Train special. (Nerd fact: That car only got the Gurney Nutting coupe bodywork after it raced the Blue Train.) Credit: Bentley "Chinese consumers at all price points are increasingly turning away from foreign brands to domestic alternatives that they view as just as good," said Vice President of Market Research at Telemetry Sam Abuelsamid. "The only exceptions are those that are focused on exclusivity, which they may only be able to get from the Europeans. The thing that sets Bentley or Rolls-Royce apart the most is the hand-built and often bespoke nature of the vehicles." How do you compete with that? But as Chinese consumers' tastes shift, European exclusivity might not be enough to stay on top. "Most customers aren't going for a bespoke version of these cars, and when comparing some of the Chinese brand offerings on an objective basis, it's increasingly difficult to make the case for European brands, even among the more volume brands like Porsche," Abuelsamid said.