China continues to be the world’s largest automotive market.
However, Chinese car manufacturers are still several years away from putting their products in the U.S. market, according to Michael Dunne.
Dunne is the president of Dunne and Company, a strategic marketing group helping auto companies expand in Asia.
Dunne addressed the status of China’s car industry, citing economic tensions with Japan.
“There is serious animosity between China and Japan. In China, all of the cities are competitive against each other. It’s a zero sum game,” said Dunne.
According to Dunne, General Motors has the largest presence out of all American automakers in China.
“General Motors is going to sell 2.5 million cars in China. Second is Ford, with roughly a fifth of what GM does. Ford has never been in better shape in China than today. Chrysler is star-crossed. They find themselves on the outside looking in, now,” said Dunne.
Dunne says China’s affordable costs makes it a desirable location for manufacturing.
“The world of business is going to look for low-cost. China has proven itself to be an ideal manufacturer of simple parts at high-scale and low-cast,” said Dunne.
According to Dunne, Thailand’s place in the auto industry is of growing importance.
“There is no question Thailand is a rising star in the auto industry. It will export more than a million cars this year, but let’s not forget the reason why American automakers are in China... it’s the biggest market in the world,” said Dunne.
Perhaps the biggest misconception about the Chinese auto industry, says Dunne, is how soon the country will enter the U.S. market.
“Chinese automakers are at least five, maybe ten years behind in terms of quality reliability. There is no immediate threat of having an invasion by Chinese car makers,” said Dunne.
-Cameron Stewart
There are two ways you can podcast "Stateside with Cynthia Canty"
