newspaper said The New York TimesChina is flooding the world with cars at a time when many of its exports are faltering, and consumers are spending less on them at home.
In a report translated by Arabi 21, she indicated that the external demand for cheap cars made in China, most of which are gasoline-powered models that Chinese consumers are now shunning in favor of electric cars, is so great that the biggest obstacle to selling more abroad is the lack of specialized ships to transport them. .
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Chinese automakers have catapulted themselves to dominance in Russia, transporting cars by train. The companies also captured large market shares in Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and Mexico. And with Trump-era tariffs hampering sales to the US, Chinese automakers are preparing for a big move to Europe — once they have enough ships.
Shipyards along the Yangtze River are building a fleet of car-carriers that act as giant floating parking lots, capable of carrying 5,000 or more cars at a time.
“It is crowded around the clock, and there are night shifts every day,” said Feng Wanyu, a ship welder, during a lunch break.
China’s total exports of goods, of everything from furniture to consumer electronics, fell 5.5 percent in the first eight months of this year, according to data released Thursday. But China’s auto industry has quadrupled its exports in just three years, overtaking Japan this year as the world leader. This year, auto exports increased by 86% through July.
Chinese households’ appetite to spend on new cars and almost everything else has waned as property prices plummet. Consumer confidence has shown few signs of recovery even after nearly three years of strict “knock out COVID” policies were lifted.
When Chinese households buy cars, the newspaper said, they are increasingly choosing electric cars from local manufacturers, which lead global production of electric vehicles. The result is a massive supply of gasoline-powered models, which Chinese consumers no longer want, but still sell. outside”.
Chinese automakers suffer from untapped manufacturing capacity to build about 15 million gasoline-powered cars annually. They have responded by sending more than four million vehicles this year to foreign markets at competitive prices.
“Why did they export? Because they have to — what should they do, shut down?” said Bill Russo, a former chief executive of Chrysler China who is now chief executive of Automobility, a consultancy in Shanghai.
And around the world, Chinese automakers are grabbing market share. What gives China’s automakers an advantage is that the raw materials used in their manufacture, including steel and electronics, are cheap. Local governments in China also give companies almost free land, near-zero interest loans, and other subsidies.
After years of quality gains and technological improvements, Chinese cars, even those with older combustion engines, are turning heads at industry fairs such as the Munich Motor Show this week.
In Australia, Chinese automakers have outsold their South Korean rivals, and are catching up with Japanese competitors. China has also rapidly expanded its exports to Mexico and Britain, and has begun to increase shipments to Belgium and Spain, which have important ports for unloading cars and which serve as gateways to other EU countries.
A shortage of ships has prevented China from exporting more. “They’re making cars much faster than they are building ships,” said Michael Dunne, former president of General Motors Indonesia. But that is starting to change.
Chinese automakers such as BYD and Chery, and the European and Singaporean shipping lines that transport the cars for them, have placed nearly all of the orders currently pending worldwide for the 170 car-carrying vessels. Before China’s car export boom, only four car freighters were ordered annually, said Daniel Nash, head of vehicle carriers at VesselsValue, the London shipping data company.
Li Cha, a welder, said he worked 12-hour shifts, with a two-hour break in the middle of the day, to cycle home for lunch. Floodlights illuminated the shipyard at night; So teams can take on particularly demanding tasks, such as installing electrical systems.
The incentive to build more ships is clear. Nash said the automaker’s daily cost of hiring a car-carrying vessel has risen to $105,000, from $16,000 two years ago. BYD is spending nearly US$100 million to build what will be the largest six-car carrier ever. Most of the ships are scheduled to be completed in the next three years.
Europe has become the main target for most Chinese automakers. They are using brands like Volvo and MG, which have been around for many years, to gain greater acceptance in Europe.
State-owned Shanghai Auto, which acquired the iconic British brand MG in 2007, exports inexpensive cars from China not only to Britain, but also to Australia. MG has re-emerged in Australia this year, as one of the best selling car brands in the country.
The joint venture between GM and SAIC began shipping Chevrolet Aveo compact cars to Mexico, for sale in June, starting at $16,300.
One major market is clearly missing among the main destinations for Chinese auto exports, which is the United States. Almost no Chinese cars are exported there now, and that is not expected to happen anytime soon.
When the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports from China in 2018 and 2019, the first batch included 25 percent duties on gasoline-powered and electric cars, and on gasoline engines and electric-vehicle batteries. Not only are the tariffs still in place, but they were enacted under legislation that gives broad discretion to the US Trade Representative, now Kathryn Tay, to increase them if necessary.
2023-09-08 00:18:00
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