Are Chinese Cars any good?
In my recent trip to Shanghai, Yiwu, Xiamen and Guanzhou last September, I was astonished on how the country has grown so rapidly. The modernization of China has accelerated at a very rapid phase, it’s hard to understand why we still think of them as 2nd rate. The recent talks about the US-China trade war engulfing the automobile sector have focused attention on the future of the leading car manufacturers who have large factories in China. What we do not realize is that because of this, the transfer of technology from leading automotive brand factories based in China to the local manufacturers is so huge, it was just a matter of time till they got it right.
Non car aficionados in the Philippines thought are probably largely unaware of what is going on in China in auto manufacturing. Having ridden on a number of Chinese made cars during my two week stay, I thought it might be useful to share some observations.
More than a decade ago, if you rode around in a Chinese brand car, in an instance, you would notice how inferior it was compared to its western counterparts. They also looked and felt like copies of Japanese or German models. In many cases they were really badly made clones. In order to cut research and development cost, these manufacturers had to largely copy from the popular models that were selling well. Firms in China first copied designs, then sourced parts, and finally built a factory and mass produced the car. This, of course, was driven by China’s local growing demand.
The established brands in the west then started venturing into auto manufacturing in China. It didn’t take long for the manufacturing to flourish because there were a number of factories operating through a joint venture with foreign contractor, making parts for a known brand, before the established brands came in.
While parts manufacturing and cloning still goes on, leading Chinese automakers have moved on to better heights. They have been aided by the transfer of technology from the West, using sophisticated computerized design tools that allow them to do their own design and modeling, a phenomenon that is becoming more and more important as know-how gets embedded in tools. These days, test drive a car from one of the leading Chinese brands, you will find that it has in truth, improved by leaps and bounds. The China cars, as what I call them, have become sophisticated. The design, the high levels of interior detailing, the engines with turbochargers and complex automatic transmissions, these were just some of the features that left me amazed. The industrial progress in such a short time is remarkable.
Why it’s not selling yet?
We know that by experience that establishing a name will take time, especially in a very competitive auto market. There will always be the buyer’s brand hesitation as we are more inclined to buying the familiar brands that we associate with reliability and quality.
What to expect from a China Car?
When you absolutely want the best deal for a vehicle, the China Car is one of the better options. It has all the features of its branded counterpart, at a lesser cost. Reliability? Well, if the Chinese company that made these cars where manufacturers for other well established brands from Japan and Korea, then I would say, they know what they are doing.
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