China’s auto industry is increasingly unnerving global automakers and politicians.
In the early 1980s, the Chinese automobile industry was almost non-existent. Today, the country has a production capacity of about 40 million vehicles per year, enough to supply half of the world.
Only about 25 million cars will be sold in China in 2023, according to Dunne Insights, a company that tracks the auto market in China and other Asian countries. To get rid of its glut, China is increasingly looking to exports. Dunne Insights CEO Michael Dunne said the company shipped cars to more than 100 countries last year.
Dunn and other insiders say it’s only a matter of time before Chinese brands make their way to the United States.
“I call it Godzilla the Great,” Dunn said. “The world has never seen an automotive industry on this scale.”
research has shown Despite shared privacy concerns, a large portion of U.S. consumers, especially younger consumers, are still willing to buy Chinese cars.
Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. President Joe Biden last month imposed tough tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, effectively doubling sticker prices that might otherwise have been as low as $11,500. Chinese electric car imports threaten Biden, government says Chinese companies benefit from unfair government support Huge government investment in electric vehicles.
Some politicians go further. Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, Represented on social media platform“Tariffs are not enough. We need to ban Chinese electric cars from entering the United States. Period.”
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has criticized the tariffs but said in early 2024 that without trade barriers, most Western automakers would be destroyed by Chinese competition.
But some in the auto industry are skeptical that tariffs will deter Chinese imports in the long term. Some say they may even do more harm than good.
Bill Russo, a former Chrysler executive who runs a consultancy called Automotive in Shanghai, said recent history shows the limits of tariffs.
President Donald Trump’s trade war may be aimed at Beijing, but it’s raising parts costs and hurting U.S. automakers, Rosseau said. Ultimately, it could also force Chinese companies to invest in other countries to help them avoid tariffs, accelerating their globalization.
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