Chinese auto makers in the US market? The door has been cracked open.

Chinese auto makers

CNN reports that Donald Trump has hinted at a path to Chinese auto makers selling vehicles in the US. The country has access to Canada’s auto market but US tariffs and national security concerns are currently major impediments.

But, in a speech in January at the Economic Club of Detroit, he said “If they want to come in and build the plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great. I love that. Let China come in.”

As one of the larger automotive markets in the world, its clear that Chinese manufacturers would love to get a foothold. And the article quoted consultant Michael Dunne saying that “the average price of a car exported from China last year was about $19,000, while the average price of a new car sold in the United States is around $50,000.”

For those of us who remember the oil shock of the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers took 1/3 of the US market by offering fuel efficient — and reliable — small cars.

They never gave it back.

It’s well known that China’s BYD has already overtaken Tesla as the world’s largest producer of electric cars and Geely, via its purchase of Volvo and thus Polestar, already has a foothold in the US.

Low priced, high quality vehicles from China will present major problems for US manufacturers, should the door be fully opened.

It’s a scenario we’ve seen before, and difficult to see that there’s any muscle memory in Detroit.

The full CNN article can be found here.

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