That's Low: Chinese Car Exports Sink 46 Percent
And yet again, the reports of Chinese cars flooding worldwide markets have been greatly exaggerated. The reverse is true: Chinese car exports are a disaster. China’s already anemic auto exports dropped 46 percent in 2009. That according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data reported in China Daily.
China exported a mere 369,600 autos in 2009, valued at $5.2b. That’s less than 3 percent of the 13.64m vehicles the Chinese consumed at home last year.
From a balance of trade perspective, no reason for complaints (unless you are Chinese:) China imported more cars than it exported. 420,800 autos came into the country in 2009, up 3 percent from a year before. The value of the imports (usually more upscale models) was $15.3b, beating exports 3:1.
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Well, as soon as they build competitive products (and they will) that might change. the exports probably are so low because domestic demand is so high that it is not worth much to make great effort exporting when you can sell it right around the corner.
Have you ever watched the Chinese crash test videos on YouTube? Followed the constant stream of reports about contaminated...everything they ship here? Things like Cadmium laced toys? Why the hell would I ever want to drive a vehicle that is a) likely to kill me in any crash b) will have plastics offgassing to the point of lethality C) have horrible reliability & d) no pretense of quality control & e) no resale value. Are these cars like the Trabant? What's the win-win for me here? How would it benefit me to buy such a vehicle in any way? Would it compete against the Tata on price? Would these cars sell better in South America or Albania? Can someone explain?
MarckKyle64: The responsibility for products imported to the United States rests with the importer. According to an Associated Press report about Cadmium in toys, "some of the most toxic toys were bracelet charms sold at Wal-Mart, as well as at the Claire’s jewelry franchise and in Disney’s "The Princess and the Frog" movie-themed pendants." Assuming that Wal-Mart, Claire and Disney were the actual importers, then they would be the responsible parties. If you produce in or import from China or any low cost country on price alone, you will have those problems, and you will be responsible. Third party Quality Assurance is highly recommended. Note when Mattel had the toy lead scandal, it was Mattel who had to take responsibility in the end, and who had to apologize for the company's own weak safety controls. There are companies who import absolute crap from China, and there are companies that import highest quality from China. The differences are in specifications, quality management, and quality control. The computer on which you typed your comments was most likely made in China, and you are obviously still alive.