We have written a lot about the ambitions of Chinese electric car manufacturers here at Cursor. As well as the concerns of Europeans related to the entry of Chinese electric cars into the market, which will compete with European car manufacturers on price. There is similar anxiety on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Chinese electric car maker BYD is planning a factory in Mexico to bring its cars closer to the end customer in North America. At least the current legislation provides that this would also mean some relief for buying a car in the US. An organization called the Alliance for US Manufacturing, which brings together American manufacturers from various industries, has expressed concern that the Chinese will flood the market, destroying domestic auto manufacturing.
They call Chinese electric cars an “existential threat” to the US economy and call on politicians to make various trade policy changes before the Chinese can expand further. “We have already seen what happens in the steel and aluminum manufacturing industries when unfairly traded imports are allowed to take over the US market – lost jobs, bankruptcies and other problems. Some places were able to recover from the impact only after several decades, others still have problems. Domestic auto manufacturing, which employs millions of Americans and has extensive ties to other industries, is vital to US manufacturing. It is an industry too important to the economic security of the United States to be left to be torn apart by unfair competition,” the organization said in a statement.
According to this organization, Washington should introduce stricter tariffs against all Chinese cars, regardless of where they are made. Americans have often protected domestic industries by introducing tougher tariffs or doing it in other ways, but here the restrictions and burdens are very clearly directed at China and its car manufacturers. It is clear that the relationship between the two superpowers is not the best and new complications could lead to another trade war between the US and China.
There is also a very extensive article on this topic in the media Business Insider, where the topic of the incredibly rapid development of Chinese electric car manufacturers is discussed, as well as how the national government has focused resources, money and influence to develop this industry. Te Lu, a representative of the consulting firm “Sino Auto Insights”, which focuses directly on the vast, rapidly growing Chinese electric car market, also expressed his opinion to the media. “We can forget the idea that Chinese-made products are not as good quality as cars from old car manufacturers. Currently, the old car manufacturers do not have competitive machines in the electric car segment. It’s a vacuum. If China were to be allowed free rein this year, it would be a big blow to local automakers,” says the observer. He compares these changes to the 1970s, when Japanese automakers rapidly expanded into global players in the auto industry. Today, no one is surprised by Toyota as the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Currently, China is in a similar position to Japan about fifty years ago – both the European Union and large American manufacturers perceive the Chinese as a very serious threat, as they are able to offer quite competitive, but at the same time, much cheaper machines than European or American manufacturers do. To solve the problem, the old and well-known car manufacturers are developing a budget electric car, but this requires time and resources, which are lacking, and the Chinese are ahead of the game, with more human resources, money and also raw materials.
2024-02-27 08:00:00
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