Don't Say We Didn't Tell You So, China Takes Lead With Stellar Auto Sales

If you have been left wondering "Why are all automotive designs beginning to have an Asian influence," we may have the answer to your question; auto sales.

Now if you were hiding under a rock since 2008, you wouldn't recall the whole gas price crisis and oil hitting unprecedented levels. Well, that had a cascading effect on our economy and even our automakers. Yes, a couple went bankrupt.

This ripple has essentially taken that respectable 16-17 million vehicles sold per year and drastically changed it. Since the oil hike and poor economy, auto sales have been lagging quite bad. It's all a part of the "new economy" and "new normal," meaning manufacturers are going to have to get used to auto sales that appear to be hovering under the 12 million vehicle mark.

**For the full scoop on China, click "Read Article"

For a view as to where the world is heading, take a close look at automotive sales data coming out of the two largest markets, the U.S. and China. It is instructive -- and a bit frightening.

In the U.S., politicians and executives are patting each other on the back for having survived the recession of 2008-2009. At the same time they are hunkering down for what they call the "new normal" -- auto sales running at about two thirds of the 16 million units a year they got used to calling normal earlier in the decade...

[Source: CNN Money]

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Yonder7 - 8/6/2010 9:27:31 AM

+3 Boost

So.....American are 300 millions....against 1300 chinise millions.....So that that is very normal. What it is very important for us now, is to create better products to be competitive in this NEW WORLD, cause honestly, there is a lot of Chinise products that are surpassing the legendary American Made Quality, we have to wake up.

uaw_lax - 8/6/2010 10:17:28 AM

-3 Boost

"cause honestly, there is a lot of Chinise products that are surpassing the legendary American Made Quality,"

Oh man you will be deboosted so much for this one!

uaw_lax - 8/6/2010 10:21:20 AM

-2 Boost

The chinese market is fresh and emerging the US is already saturated it's just that easy. Oh and this is where the bulk of the money that was in the US now in china along with millions of US jobs, buying up these cars. Better start buying American again cause this is what happens when you out source everything.

Agent00R - 8/6/2010 12:09:24 PM

+1 Boost

LOL, wasn't mine, Halberstram.

Good one, though.

AlleVier - 8/6/2010 1:24:33 PM

0 Boost

We talked about this before and I think the idea that's being presented is that the Chinese market is so huge that global manufacturers are going to start making design changes to please Chinese tastes. For the most part, their taste has been influenced by American, Japanese, and European design, but little differences have begin to emerge such as the design of long-wheelbase models to suit their more-common practice of being chauffeured. Pretty soon, though cars will become more rounded and will sport headlights with black surrounds and black fuzzy side mirrors such that they resemble panda bears. Just you watch.

hybridfarce - 8/7/2010 5:42:22 PM

+2 Boost

I’m currently in China on a business trip in a city outside of Shanghai. The foreign nameplates that rule the road here (and are built in China) are Buick, WV, and Ford – Honda and Toyota are also big here, but I don’t know if they are built locally. But there are a ton of cars from Chinese companies (BYD is one of them, some have no English nameplates), some starting around USD$3000. Someone told me that less than 10% of the population in this city owns cars – it is still out-of-reach for the vast majority (who use electric scooters and bicycles and public transportation), so a Chinese nameplate is their first car. A Taiwanese coworker said these cars have practically no safety features and will easily crumple up in a crash.

There is one Chinese nameplate that copied the 3-series (not a good copy), but their E-class is nearly spot-on. I thought I was looking at the real thing with revised headlamps and taillights.

Shanghai seems a lot more affluent, and the selection of cars in the financial/business district would look like any big Western city – and there are few Chinese nameplates. I’m sure that changes the further you get away from the center of the city.