Workers
in western car plants fearful of the threatened invasion of Chinese
cars can sleep soundly for a few more years at least.
The New York Times does a typically thorough job of demolishing any hope that China might have to become a major car exporter this decade.
While Chinese cars are inexpensive and approaching western levels of reliability, Chinese carmakers have not yet brought the styling, safety, emissions and performance of their vehicles up to the standards that western consumers expect, says the 'paper. And when it comes to marketing and brand strategies, Chinese firms have a lot to learn.
So why is the western car industry so worried? China has conquered so many other manufacturing sectors that it would be foolish to write them off for long.
The big fear, of course, is that China could repeat the huge success that Japanese carmakers have had in the west.
But the automotive industry has evolved a lot since Japanese cars first started to appear on western roads. According to the NYT:
Japanese and Korean automakers cracked the American car market by climbing up a ladder of larger and costlier models. China, too, will start with low prices. But the global market has become so integrated and competitive that China will have to move much faster than past companies in building manufacturing capability and technology."
Earlier this year ,Geely surprised the western car industry by displaying a car at the Detroit auto show that it had designed by itself. Chery Automobile announced that it, too, was planning to export a fully Chinese-made car next year to the US.
Bu the two rival Chinese firms keep pushing back their US launch dates and it seems unlikely they will go on sale in the US before the next decade.
Indeed, some Chinese auto executives admit that it could be as late as 2020 before they will be ready to take on the world.
