Chinese Rover
China will replace Germany this year as the world’s third largest maker of cars and vans, according to a report of market research released Tuesday.
China will produce about 5.9 million light vehicles this year, outpacing Germany’s 5.38 million, according to figures released by Polk Marketing Systems, a key car market research and consulting company based in the German city of Essen.
The capacity of both countries is so far well behind United States (11 million) and Japan (10.63 million), but Polk said China would reach the level of 10 million within a decade.
I wonder if China might be interested in buying Ford or GM?
Actually, although the car is based on the Rover model it not actually a Rover, Ford has exercised its right to acquire the Rover name from BMW.
China, the new world super power.
That vehicle isn’t big enough. It’s going to cripple the economy.
It should be a Hummer. Yes, a large, non-aerodynamic brick.
That’s the way of the future. Bricks with wheels. Perhaps, a vehicle with a concave front end, or sails on top to help it use more gas…
Ford keeps saying they’re going to exercise their right to the name. The Chinese firm can still call 2 models “Rover”. And Ford has to come up with enough bucks to keep BMW happy — or they could swap Aston Martin for it. 🙂
Well, they do have a billion people. They need Lots O’ Autos.
Uh oh,
More of these stupid vehicles. So when are they gonna sell them in the US, and undercut everyone, by selling them for $1000 each?
The most advantage that the Chinese have is that the majority of their population is SECULAR (read my print: NO BELIEF IN GOD). I’ve known many Chinese immigrants here in America and have asked them about God. There reply is the same as if I asked them if they believe in pink elephants. It’s astounding to find a person with little, or no concept of God in this religiously-corrupt country.
What happens to NEW cars that arent sold??
Any ideas??
ECA — it produces 2 things:
1. Some terrific deals. New cars are usually floorplanned — a financing plan roughly akin to a pyramid scheme with only the financier benefitting. A point is reached where the critters simply have to get off the inventory — at any price!
2. If dealers don’t move the cars, they go out of business — unable to pay the vig. It can happen in as brief a period as 3-4 months depending on how much cash a dealer has stashed.
Unfortunately I betcha China soon-will/already rules as the top polluter also.
They make good and cheap stuff tho. Pretty much.
But something stinks. As in pollution…….
Just what the world needs, another ten million cars a year.
We should require all commenters to attend class here every day. Missing prior discussions shouldn’t be allowed. 🙂
It’s pretty much agreed that China is the world’s current #1 polluter. It’s also accepted that is a diminishing situation — the cause being the same that gave that “honor” to the Brits immediately before and after WW2. They still use open coal fires for cooking and heating. That accounts for 50% of China’s air pollution.
Until they establish a conversion network to move folks to alternative means at home — it ain’t getting better.
Water pollution is a different story. Like government corruption, they may have moved their economy from the 19th to the 21st Century; but, a lot of ideological infrastructure is still early Industrial.
Sort of where we’re heading.
5 Well, they do have a billion people. They need Lots O’ Autos.
Thats what I was thinking…
Germany and Japan sell a lot [most?] of their vehicles to their export markets.
How many will China be exporting?
# 12 Agreed 🙂
But here’s the real scary point; China seemingly produces pretty much everything for the whole world, not only for the locals.
And not only in a “normal export” ratio. Any time I’m visiting stores like Wal Mart, it baffles me how hard it is to find items NOT made in China.
Again, this has to cause some major pollution issues in a not too far future…
I welcome China entering the modern world, but it comes with a high price. And I’m not talking about the pricetag for their goods in the stores.
#14
Well, the major problem is that stores like Wal-Mart force manufacturers to cut costs, and those costs can just be done if they move manufacturing to China, Vietnam, Pakistan etc.
You watch their glorified ads on TV with the happy smiley jumping from sign to sign, lowering prices, and then they’re saying that they’re giving hundres of local workers jobs. What these ads doesn’t say is that those jobs are at about the same level as McJobs, and that local competitors will slowly but surely be decimated as well as that local manufacturers won’t see any of their goods at Wal-Mart unless they lower their prices beyond what’s economically feasible for their company. It’s either you move your manufacturing or you sell through whatever other stores are available. If you really want to buy local, then Wal-Mart is not your choice.
As for the pollution part… yes, China is a major polluter (not as big as the U.S.A. though, but it’s getting there. Visiting Beijing is an experience in its own. Most of the days, you can just see 150-200 yards due to pollution in the air. But when some storm has just passed by, you can see a clear and nice sky… just to see the normal smog arrive some hours later.
Chinese Rover:
Price $2799 USD.
Econo Pak (3): $6999
The biggest reason why Kyoto was a farce….CHINA…..it and India and all of the third world were exempt…..it just so happens thats where most of the pollution is now being produced.
China just bought out Rover, but Ford did use it’s option yesterday and will pay BMW for the name. By buying it out, China saved hundreds of jobs in England at the Rover plants that had announced they were closing. China reopened them and are using almost all the old workers.
If that’s a Chinese Rover, how come it has Dutch registration plates?
In this part of the world, Chinese cars and trucks are pretty common. They look pretty “First World” but fall apart quickly. I mean, really quickly.
However, that used to be true for Korean and even Japanese cars.
Is America getting screwed, once again, here? We have been giving away the farm in favored trade to the Chinese with the hope of future entrance to their huge markets.
But are the Chinese going to protect domestic industries until our competitive advantage no longer helps us?
Here in Europe they announced chinese manufactured cars, dirt cheap. It was a tv news (made in Holland, by the way, so this picture may be related).
But that was one year ago. Since then I’ve seen none of these on the streets. Guess they didn’t pass safety specs.
It was reported that they were usually external replicas of ocidental cars, but the fabrication, mechanics and safety standards were less than 80’s standards.
Bottm line: You can save some, but in the end costs more.
From what I understand of the Rover deal…..all the parts will be made in the European plants bought by China, but the auto will be assembled in China.