Chinese Car Brands Gain a Little More Acceptance (But With a Caveat)

Well, there are definitely some interesting surprises here in AutoPacific’s latest study...

• I’m not surprised at the increased familiarity with Chinese brands. Between Jim Farley’s praise of Xiaomi and the ongoing EV sales battle between Tesla and BYD, stories about the Chinese brands are going beyond business columns and buff books.

• The increased interest in buying a Chinese vehicle does come as a bit of a surprise, as I still hear plenty of concern--at least here in the Midwest--about the perception that Chinese product quality (automotive or otherwise) still has a way to go.

• Per my note above, Xiaomi and BYD have been making the news lately, and their products have been very well reviewed. Curiously, Huawei may be a familiar brand because their tech was banned in the US seven years ago--and, oddly, they don’t actually use their brand on any cars, but instead collaborate with multiple automakers.

• The concerns over privacy and national security suggest the reaction to Ford building a plant with CATL-licensed battery tech in Michigan is small potatoes compared to what might happen (depending on what state we’re talking about) if a Chinese automaker choose to build and operate a US plant. We’ve already heard rumors the Chinese government would prefer BYD not build a plant in Mexico because of the fear of intellectual property leaks; does that suggest a similar philosophy towards a US plant? If that’s true, the only possible path to Chinese EVs in the US might be the various legacy/China partnerships (Mazda/Changan, BMW/Great Wall, VW/Xpeng, Stellantis/Leapmotor, etc) and building Chinese-engineered vehicles in existing ‘legacy’ plants.