Business Monday: Chinese Makers Coming to Detroit
MotorTrendOnline is reporting that Changfeng Motor Group and Geely International Corporation will be making a return to the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, with BYD Auto, Chamco, and Li Shi Guang Ming going along for the ride. This means that China’s presence at the auto show will be more than double what it was in 2007.
Last year, Changfeng brought over the Rhombus concept car, which sported three wheels and a carved bamboo interior, and bragged about their Hunan Province (the birthplace of Mao Tse-Tung) headquarters, neither of which impressed the US public or audience, though they did sell around 200,000 trucks and SUVs worldwide.
MotorTrend’s assessment of the Chinese company’s plan to market here in the States was less than favorable, referring to translation issues and poor planning, but it still bears mentioning that these makers are showing up.
Chamco, on the other hand, has Steven Saleen guiding them toward a successful launch into the American Market, where they hope to offer their SUV’s and trucks by 2008. They have a trial run set for Mexico first, and expect their Chinese-built vehicles to do well, but when it comes to Chinese automakers, great expectations don’t always lead to great success. In fact, so far the number of Chinese auto manufacturers to successfully enter the US market is approximately ZERO.
Still, the Korean manufacturers had successful entrees with Kia and Daiwoo, so maybe it’s good for the Chinese companies to dream.
After all, big dreams are what the US is all about.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
[...] this breathtaking event. In addition to the booths set up by just about every major automaker (as well as some new entrants from China), there are also a ton of special events taking place. Some of these events are the 2008 North [...]