Stephan: I have been following the Chinese automotive industry, and have done several stories on it in SR, because I think its development represents an important trend; this is the latest. My view is that the American car industry like so many other aspects of our economy is arthritic; rather than adapt to the future special interests fight to maintain their markets even though those products and designs are increasingly out of date and out of synch with the trends. You can see this process easily in Elon Musk's Tesla 3 sales in which in 36 hours he sold more electric cars -- 300,000 of them -- than the traditional American auto companies collectively have sold in the last five years.
Now we are going to see Chinese cars, electric and petroleum powered, come on the market at much lower prices yet with quality as good or better than Detroit. Where once we were nimble and innovative now we are conservative and defensive.
A Lifan Panda and a Mini Cooper. The electric Lifan Panda (also called the 330 EV) starts at $15,400 but the original Mini impersonator, the gas-powered Lifan 320, is priced at $7,150. The Mini Cooper starts at $20,700 in China.
Credit: Janis Mackey Frayer | Jae C. Hong / AP
BEIJING — Consumers ambling through China’s largest auto show might be forgiven for occasional flashes of déjà vu.
Most of the display stages in the exhibition halls look the same. The young women staffing them are dressed in matching outfits. And many of the designs from Chinese carmakers bear an uncanny resemblance to vehicles made by foreign companies.
Some of the Chinese firms’ vehicles appear to pay homage to others made by the likes of BMW, Ford, and Audi.
One of […]
