[EdT]

I am tired of waiting, they are available in European countries such as Germany and Italy, but somehow the primitive auto unions and government here in the USA and Canada are somehow keeping them from arriving here !

I hope with the downfall of GM, Ford and Chrysler they enter into North American market sooner.

The two perspective North American importers such as Chamco and Visionary Autos are in trouble and I don't see them as major players here anymore.

So is there anyone here in North America with a Chinese car ?

 

[MichaelBMW]

As a the and expanding industry, Chinese automakers has a long way to walk, next year or longer? we are looking forward...

 

[axeray]

They'll get there. It's only a matter of time.

Especially if they're appearing in Auto shows. It'll be sooner rather than later.

 

[jmsteiny]

OK........chinese cars coming to North America...........been discussed here many times. I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

First, ANY chinese car company that wants to sell in "North America" (we're really talking about the USA/Canada) needs to take two BIG steps to prepare their cars for sales in the USA/Canada - crash test standards and pollution emissions from engines. Brilliance is probably the farthest along regarding these issues, because they already sell cars in Europe and the standards there are similar to the USA/Canada. Chery, Geely and BYD are also moving quickly regarding these issues.........the Chery A3 just received a FIVE star rating with China's crash test standards (similar to Europe's). More and more chinese cars now have engines that meet Euro 4 and/or 5 standards, which is more stringent than most of North America. Quality control was a BIG issue a few years ago, but that has changed a lot too...........buy a new Brilliance or even Chery and you can be reasonably assured that your car will spend more time on the road than in the shop!

OK, assuming that some chinese cars pass the crash test and emissions standards............what next? Lots of things......development and implementation of dealer networks, marketing and advertising campaigns, public relations strategies - LOTS of things. Selling a chinese car in the USA/Canada (especially the USA) is going to be a challenge, at least at the beginning........because of the PUBLIC PERCEPTION of chinese products. Many people (at least in the USA) think of chinese products as cheap toys, electronics, knockoff or pirated products, etc. - it's going to take some savvy marketing to convince consumers that a chinese car is a durable and quality product. Honda faced the same challenges in the early 1970's, same with Hyundai in the 1980's. Honda (and the other japanese car companies) got lucky with the two fuel embargos (1974 and 1978) that the USA had to deal with.......Hyundai had to deal with a decade of poor public perception because of the Excel's spotty reputation. The chinese companies CAN take advantage of the public's new-found desire for gas friendly products, AND they are now capable of selling a car that is of decent enough quality that it won't fall apart after 1-2 years. Can they convince the North American consumer to trust a chinese car? THAT is the big question. In some ways, the answer is political - I think the Obama administration will be more friendly to China than the Bush administration was, and that right there can be a major factor. Even with that, it's STILL going to be a tough market - the japanese/korean/american car companies are not going to just sit around and do nothing. Both Toyota and Nissan now have products that start at under $10,000 USD - the (Toyota) Yaris and (Nissan) Versa (the Versa is the Tiida in China), same with Hyundai. Detroit won't just give up either...........

OK, this got longer that I wanted it to be. My point? I firmly DO believe that chinese cars will reach North American shores fairly soon - 1 to 2 years I think. However, it's going to be a challenge, and the chinese companies that DO make it to North America have got to be prepared to take a few years to build their market and be patient with sales growth - it's NOT going to be instant success for them. Don't worry, EdT - you WILL see chinese cars soon, and in the mean time - if you can't wait, why not come to China and see them NOW????

 

[CarlitoxArg]

The first brand that I think that will enter to the US market...Is Brilliance, as jmsteiny says...Brilliance are selling their cars in the EU which standars are similar to EU standars...So, Go Brilliance! =)

 

[axeray]

It will be very difficult to change the public perception of Chinese products.

Initially it will be very tough and a 10 year apprenticeship, much like th japanese cars, is more likely than not.

 

[BigFatGuy]

jmsteiny summed it up very well. Until they meet NA emission & crash standards, they can't be sold in NA.

Plus with the global downturn in car sales, that kind of investment might not be the right choice.....

 

[Rally Red Lancer GTS]

Talk about incentive to get 'er done, though, eh? I mean, with the U.S. domestics struggling and needing bailout cash, this is a great time to introduce new rigs from China. They've got to be low priced and yes, they must hold up in crashes. That will increase the cost to make them for the Chinese manufacturer's for the U.S., however, that is also true.

And bring new all-electrically-propelled rigs of all shapes and sizes! The time is ripe for them in NA.

 

[BigFatGuy]

Its not just the domestics though. Toyota sales were down 35% last month. Prius was down something like 55+%.
Its not that Americans aren't buying American cars, giving China an opening; we aren't buying any cars from anyone. Especially from an "unknown" newcomer to NA.
Bad time to invest in NA in my opinion....

 

[jmsteiny]

Its not just the domestics though. Toyota sales were down 35% last month. Prius was down something like 55+%.
Its not that Americans aren't buying American cars, giving China an opening; we aren't buying any cars from anyone. Especially from an "unknown" newcomer to NA.
Bad time to invest in NA in my opinion....

A very interesting and valid point. However, we all know that the "economic downturn" won't be here forever, and there WILL be a slow but steady upturn in a year or so. If the chinese companies really want to sell cars in the USA, they need to prepare NOW - and once the economy is in better shape they will be in place and ready to serve the needs of consumers that are ready for economical, gas friendly cars - or even hybrid/electric cars. People are waking up to the reality of the 21st century - gasoline is a FINITE item and a major contributor of pollution, and you no longer really need gasoline to propel cars down the road anymore. China's development of hybrid/electric technology (BYD comes to mind) could be HUGELY successful in the USA in a few years.....but they need to prepare NOW to be ready for the future.

 

[Rally Red Lancer GTS]

But for sure you guys have heard the arguments against making all-electric cars. The carbon footprint is bigger, they say, because of the coal-fired electrical plants that produce the electricity for the all-electric cars to use. Also, how China fires up so many new coal-fired electrical plants every month.

I have heard this argument and I agree that we need to be thinking about new ways-hydroelectric, wind energy, solar, etc., to produce electricity.

Even with those arguments against making all-electrics that have to be plugged in, I still think that is where we need to move...globally. I don't like the idea of hybrid cars, to me they are a temporary fix. Move it all to electrical power and figure out more conservation-friendly methods to produce the electricity to power them all as the car technology improves for all-electrics. I think all of this is being done as I type this out.

But just falling back to the ICE cars is not going to get the futuristic job done.

 

[axeray]

Electric cars are the way to go.

We already have greener electricity options available. As time goes by they need to be developed to a much larger scale.

 

[BigFatGuy]

.....but they need to prepare NOW to be ready for the future.

True, they must absolutely prepare now. However, by prepare I'm thinking design studies, research, scouting dealerships & locations, etc. I think spending tons of cash on advertising, setup and such to get their name out in North America isn't the best idea in a shrinking market. I bet 2009 will be worse than last year. 2011 would be a better scenario for entering NA.
I say that is a better time, because with better economic times comes more free spirited spending. People are more willing to buy the "unkown" Chinese car vs the known quality Japanese car. Running NA operations deeply in the red for a year or more doesn't make people confident in your company.
I just see it as: get ready as much as possible to jump in when people are ready to spend.

 

[axeray]

2 years is a minimum. I think they'll review it then. With this year epected to be a tougher year than '08', if 2010 is another tough year I don't see them boing in '11'.

 

[jmsteiny]

Good discussion here. I am hoping that at least ONE of the chinese car companies can be ready around 2010 - why? That is the year (presumably) that Chevy will start selling the Volt, and I think that it would nice to offer the consumer a valid alternative (namely BYD with the F3DM/E6) that will be AFFORDABLE. Sure, the Volt is a great idea (and a VERY nice looking car), but will likely be in the $40,000 price range by the time it is released for sale. I would NOT call that affordable, at least for the average consumer - and the AVERAGE consumer is what needs to be targeted to make hybrid/electric technology TRULY successful. Right now, chinese companies are better prepared to get this technology to the consumer in a affordable manner than any other companies in the world......and if we're going to win the challenges facing us regarding global warming, we have to DO IT as a world.

 

[Rally Red Lancer GTS]

Also, Italy's Pininfarina-Bollore are going to export to the States in 2010 their B0 all-electric(pronounced B-Zero), for no carbon monoxide emissions produced.

This car will qualify consumers for the $7,500 Barack Obama purchase rebate amount, because it's a "green" car.

The price of the B0 is not yet released, but, the LeBlue car that was used a a test-mule for the Bollore Co.'s Lithium Polymer battery system was going to sell for around $23,000USD. So, the B0 should be priced somewhere in there, too, one would think. Minus the $7,500 "green car" rebate.

Some B0's will be exported to three U.S. test markets in 2009 to see how the public reacts to them, then the main export to the U.S. market will be in September of 2010. The car will go 80 mph(and be electronically limited to that) and has a range of 153 miles. The batteries are said to be very strong, stable, crashworthy and reliable, and the test mule battery packs have gone 120,000km's with no maintenance and no problems. So this car might find a very receptive audience in the States. The mood is ripe for change, and this kind of car is the kind that people are ready to switch to.

Also, Mitsubishi is exporting their i-MiEV to the States in 2010. The entry of several all-electrics is drawing much nearer to the U.S. China must speed up their entry to be there when these others are going to be available, to make their presence known. They must pass crash tests, however, or it's all for naught.

Things are going to start getting interesting for choices, finally.

 

[BigFatGuy]

^That B0 looks pretty good. They should probably badge it as "B-Zero" though.

As for the Volt looking good, I thought the concept lookd great. However the production model looks like a Prius with a Chevy badge.

 

[Rally Red Lancer GTS]

Yeah, Chevy's production Volt has that "is this a real car" look to it, too much like the Prius.

What, is this a competition or something?

 

[ezraxenon]

maybe they have to deal with the taxes and the other charges. it's not easy to import a car from the other countries.

 

[youshi]

Chinese cars coming to North America has been discussed here many times. I think it's very difficult to change the public perception of Chinese products.