QOTD: How to Succeed in China?

by Tim Healey

Published: May 17th, 2023

Ford is scaling back in China. Yet, at the same time, General Motors' Buick brand survived the brand purges in 2008-2009 in part because of its success in China.

So, what is the best way for non-Chinese makes to succeed in that market?

The question is pretty self-explanatory and I don't really need much more preamble. Go ahead and speak your mind. Respectfully, of course.

Sound off below.

[Image: humphery/Shutterstock.com]

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#China #ChineseMarket #Ford #GeneralMotors #QOTD #QuestionOfTheDay

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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11 of 37 comments

Wolfwagen on May 18, 2023

In the words of WOPR "The only way to win is not to play"

3 Reply
Mike Beranek on May 18, 2023

Really, it's the Chinese people who are "scaling back" China itself. They're about to experience a demographic collapse the likes of which the world has never seen.
Ford, and the other US automakers, should focus on India instead.

Like Reply
- See 6 previous
- Jeff S on May 18, 2023
  
  Maybe but the US automakers need to do a better job focusing on the US market with the exception of Tesla. Ford still has problems with quality and production.
  
  1
- Lou_BC on May 18, 2023
  
  The problem with India is poverty. China has tried to focus on the middle class since that's the group that tends to revolt when unhappy.
  
  Like
- Analoggrotto on May 18, 2023
  
  China will get everything it deserves for it's embrace of communism.
  
  Like
- VoGhost on May 18, 2023
  
  China is the largest auto market in the world, and it's not going away in our lifetimes.
  
  Like
- Jeff S on May 18, 2023
  
  Lou_BC--Agree and both Ford and GM had plants in India and pulled out. The masses cannot afford vehicles even the Tata Nano which was the World's cheapest car and the worst car (its no longer made).
  
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- Lou_BC on May 18, 2023
  
  "China will get everything it deserves for it's embrace of communism."
  Communism: "a classless system in which the means of production are owned communally and private property is nonexistent or severely curtailed."
  Totalitarian capitalistic state is more accurate. One could argue that China is much closer to fascism than communism.
  
  This is an interesting read:
  https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/is-china-fascist-state/
  
  1
- Jeff S on May 18, 2023
  
  Agree China is less Communist and more of a Fascist dictatorship. Russia is definitely a dictatorship as well. I hope the US doesn't follow in that path as well but one of our leading candidates for President says he would like to be President for life and that the Constitution should be suspended. I doubt he is joking.
  
  Like
Dukeisduke on May 18, 2023

How to Succeed in China? Be a Chinese company, duh.

Like Reply
Cprescott on May 18, 2023

Build ugly vehicles with weird names and have them have a propensity to catch fire!

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