BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters) - The battle for consumer

attention in China's electric car market is being fought over

touches of "tech luxury" that car buyers in other markets have

never seen.

China's upstart electric brands, and even its state-owned,

legacy automakers, are racing to pack technology and features

once considered premium into EVs as cheap as $20,000 - less than

half the cost of an average new car in the United States, now

more than $48,000.

That represents a deepening challenge to foreign brands in

China, including Tesla and Volkswagen,

which both have top-selling EVs in the world's largest market,

and others, analysts say.

Last year, BYD shocked the automotive industry

with the release of its Seagull EV, now priced under $10,000, at

the Shanghai auto show. The Seagull is now China's fourth-best

selling EV.

But other Chinese automakers, including state-run companies

that were later entrants to the EV race, have closed the gap on

sub-$10,000 EVs at the Beijing auto show that began Thursday.

The market is also crowded with electric and plug-in

vehicles starting near $20,000 that still splash on

once-expensive interior features and technology.

Chinese consumers, especially younger ones, rank "technology

luxury" as an important consideration, and Chinese automakers

are taking the lead on such features, said Raymond Tsang, a

Shanghai-based Bain & Company partner.

"This is quite different from many other Western markets

where traditionally car buyers are still weighting quite heavily

on build quality, reliability, ride and handling," he said.

KARAOKE IN YOUR MERCEDES

In a race to stand out, some Chinese brands are offering

features intended to be fun, if not frivolous.

The Baojun Yep, a mini-EV by the SAIC-GM-Wuling

joint-venture that starts around $11,000, has a screen on the

tailgate where drivers can flash messages such as "thank you,"

or a heart emoji, to acknowledge the kindness of another road

user.

The Zeekr 001 electric sedan, a premium offering in

China that starts around $37,000, has a front grille that can

play music at a stop while giving pedestrians a bouncing string

of thumbs-up emojis.

SAIC Motor brand Roewe's just-released D5X DMH

plug-in hybrid SUV, which starts around $16,500, allows drivers

to enter up to 10 different commands into a navigation system,

such as a series of different destinations, all at once.

XPeng ( XPEV ) and Nio, EV-focused companies that

launched as startups, are rolling out mass-market brands for

China where competition on price has become cut-throat. Xpeng ( XPEV )

expects its upcoming Mona-branded EV will be the first in China

priced below $21,000 to have high-level self-driving features.

"Even one or two years ago, I didn't think we could achieve

that," XPeng ( XPEV ) co-president Brian Gu told reporters on the

sidelines of the Beijing auto show.

In China, the price of specialized components - including

sensors needed for self-driving features and screens for

on-board entertainment - has tumbled and competition has

intensified in the world's largest auto market, analysts say.

Dongfeng, a state-owned automaker, is showing off the Nammi

in Beijing. The EV with a 300-km (186-mile) range sells for

$9,600. It features flush door handles that pop out on command,

an aerodynamic feature popularized by Tesla. Owners can start

the car and open the doors remotely with a smartphone.

'CHINESE WOW EFFECTS'

Historically, U.S. and European brands have been considered

more luxurious and higher quality than Chinese brands. That's

changing fast, analysts say.

"The halo of foreign brands has almost disappeared,"

McKinsey analysts said in an outlook for China's auto market

released in March. "Foreign, high-end traditional car owners are

being transformed into Chinese high-end, new energy brand owners

in an almost one-way flow."

The German automakers are not standing still.

Volkswagen, China's leading foreign brand, plans to deliver

the "Chinese wow effects" tech-savvy consumers there expect,

China chief Ralf Brandstaetter told reporters on Tuesday.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius told Reuters that his

Chinese digital tech team was dedicated to catering to the

tastes of younger and more tech-oriented consumers in China.

"In the new E-Class, you can sing karaoke. Maybe you don't

have that feature in Germany. Maybe you should. But here

customers love it," he said.

Both German executives said their cars had the capability to

add new features with "China speed" through over-the-air

software updates.

At Chinese tech giant Huawei's flagship store in

central Beijing earlier this week, Jack Xu was shopping not for

a smartphone but for his first EV. The one that caught his eye

was a Huawei-backed SUV under the Aito brand, an EV manufactured

in partnership with Seres.

"For EVs, we are already leading the world," the 36-year-old

education worker said, looking at the display screen spanning

the width of the front row. "Why would I choose a foreign car?"