And the car would be called…the Innee

You’ve nailed a number of China’s challenges right on the head.

It will likely take them only 3-5 years to improve product safety and reliability to some acceptable world standard, and to graduate beyond the copycat phase. When those barriers come down, watch out Ford, Toyota, etc.

The ultimate wild card is their own political system. How long can they successfully hold the communist hammer over a burgeoning capitalism? It’s hard to imagine this as anything but a powder keg just waiting to go off.

For what it’s worth, that China numbers cited here include large commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses; while the U.S. number cited here does not.

Careful, if we would deduct what qualifies as “truck” from the U.S. count, America would look like a third world country,

The next phase for this is whether or not China’s car business can play in the world market. I don’t mean in the context of selling rides overseas, but in things like industry standards regarding intellectual property, joint deals, that type of thing. It is interesting to note the complete lack of a Russian auto-maker (or vehicle maker of any kind, barring military machinery) emerging on the international scene. The Russians have pretty much knee-capped their own manufacturing sector – export and otherwise – with the way they do business.

If times get tough for the elites – either politically or financially – in China, they could revert to the same techniques, with the same results. That’s about the only risk I see for them on their way to world-class though.

Exactly. That’s how you can tell she’s tiny but not emaciated.

Chinese cars and Chinese car buyers are poised to become the major force in the auto biz in the coming years, and yet the average North American (and possibly European too) is sleepwalking right off the cliff.

If you think GM and Chrysler filing for C11 is big news, just wait until the Toyota Death Watch starts, and Hyundai identifies the Chinese as the biggest threat to its #1 position in the market.

I’m not making judgment calls on cars here, just calling it as I see it.

Shame they are being outlawed in the US…

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70075

I think we would be idiots in the US to not assume that the Chinese and Indians will end up buying more cars than us.

The women take cute to a new level, however the guys mostly show up with bad haircuts. Everyone wears white socks. They like cars–especially expensive German brands. If you drive an Audi or a Mercedes, the girls smile. But that’s probably the same, anywhere. At the same time, you’d be nuts to drive in ANY large Chinese city.

I’m not sure it’s all coming from the cars, but the next time Al Gore complains about US auto emissions, tell him to visit Guangzhou.

Public transportation is plentiful, bus lieutenants wear cute stewardess uniforms (everyone in public service wears uniforms), and they can amaze with their ability to keep track of who gets on and off w/o paying. Whatever you do, don’t pay using counterfeit yuan, or the bus lieutenant will stop the bus, call for the police, and there will be trouble. Buses are usually cheap to ride and generally on time, but sometimes have a tendency to blow up in awful conflagrations, so it’s best to sit/stand near the door, if you can.

Buick is a desirable car, so the General has that going for it, while every other car seems to be a VW Quantum-like taxi. Chinese generally don’t like Japanese (it’s the history), but history is easily forgotten if they can afford a Toyota.

You can eat for next to nothing, but just don’t ask what. Whatever it is, it’s not fried rice and/or sweet and sour pork, that much is certain. The good news: they mostly like Americans–a plus for us, once they take over the world. Somehow, I see a Buick in our future.

The numbers reported for a country with a rudimentary banking system and no tradition of credit seems kind of high. Just how reliable ARE the Chinese numbers? I also wonder why the goverment hasn’t encouraged the Chinese equivalent of the model T or VW bug, or have they? Do the numbers include very basic cars not shown at the auto shows?

———————————————-

1) These numbers are quite reliable. There is no real incentive to over state it.

2) The earlier VW Santana (in the 80s~90s) was the Chinese equivalent of the model T or VW bug.

3) The JV’s (VW, Honda, GM, etc) got such powerful allies that truly native Chinese auto makers such as Geely got depressed. Chinese domestic non-state owned auto makers must pay a higher tax rate than JV’s up to a couple years back.

The numbers reported for a country with a rudimentary banking system and no tradition of credit seems kind of high. Just how reliable ARE the Chinese numbers? I also wonder why the goverment hasn’t encouraged the Chinese equivalent of the model T or VW bug, or have they? Do the numbers include very basic cars not shown at the auto shows?

The China number given here is not a count of “cars”, it’s a count of “vehicles with 4 or more wheels”.

FWIW. I point this out. No one cares. We’ll do the same next month. Whatever.

And Beken, the China population is not 10X that of USA. China has 1.3 billion, USA has 300 million.

It’s been a tough adjustment, hasn’t it?

Will someone call Ms Heid Fleiss quick, to help out her Chpt 11 in recent times.

And how about the side winder building in Shanghai.
Sadly it took a worker with her.

It gave a new meaning to Horizontal position. and river view.
At least they can achieve that in a hurry what Tower of Pizza cannot do in few hundred years.

To the main subject. Even just a year ago, nobody I know would have expected that the Chinese market could overcome the US market. Except maybe some here on TTAC.

My… how times change.