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The Rise of Chinese car manufacturers

JAG - 28/5/26 at 12:57 PM

BBC News Story

What do you guys think of this?

The British/American/European car industry is facing an, almost, overwhelming influx of Chinese made cars.

Cars like the Jaecoo 7 and BYD Seal are popping up just about everywhere.

I think that the British/American/European car industry has been drawn in by the Chinese Government. Western car manufacturers set up joint venture businesses with Chinese car manufacturers about 20 years ago (it was the only way to sell cars in China without attracting tarrifs) and now that the Chinese businesses have learned from them, and added their own EV tech', they are using that expertise to fill the West with Chinese made cars.

If you add in the Chinese software and technology it's difficult to see how the British/American/European car industry is going to compete.

Do you own an EV?

Do you own a Chinese made car?

Would you buy a Chinese made car?

How can the British/American/European car industry counter this influx of cheaper and better equipped cars?

As a consumer of these products is this a Win-Win situation?

loggyboy - 28/5/26 at 02:39 PM

https://youtu.be/q33XXQDJnQw?t=409

westf27 - 28/5/26 at 04:13 PM

Reminds me of the Japanese a bit back in the sixties.Would very often copy first and then look to make it better.They did it with the bikes and then cars.The difference is I would be more confident with a Japanese vehicle than a Chinese one.Even their steel is dubious and the electronics suspect.My feeling is that the Chinese thing will go pop at some point.

Slimy38 - 28/5/26 at 04:46 PM

My YouTube feed is just filled with the negative side of Chinese cars. No decent warranty, no parts, no repair panels so cars get written off too quickly, insurance premiums more than double the equivalent 'local' car for the same reason. I take all of that with a pinch of salt of course, I suspect most are just clickbait.

As for whether I'd buy one, I'd have to say 'no'. But mainly because I can't justify the cost of an EV from any brand. We don't do enough mileage to recoup the initial cost.

Sanzomat - 28/5/26 at 08:00 PM

You are right - they do seems to be everywhere. The delta in purchase price is clearly a factor, particularly for the private customer who have previously bought Kia and Hyundai (which now seem to be similar price to european brands). It seems that whichever chinese car maker bought the MG brand made a good marketing move as two of my inlaws (neither are really car people) have both bought chinese MGs, one EV and one ICE. They really like them and couldn't have got anywhere near the spec for the price they paid from "local" brands. Insurance premiums are no different. So far (about 18 months) both are 100% reliable. They both had Qashqais before and both had lots of problems with them so rave about the quality of the MGs

JC - 29/5/26 at 06:28 AM

They are turning cars into ‘white goods’. Identikit mass market dross…..
3 of the biggest players are owned by the state with subsidies that give them a massive competitive edge. Coupled with cheap labour costs, it is difficult to see how the ‘western’ car industry can compete.

My biggest concern is for data privacy though. It is not for no reason that Chinese cars have been banned from some military bases and personnel have been advised not to plug their phones in through the USB.
‘I’ve got nothing to hide’ you may say, but everyone has something of value - whether that’s personal data or sensitive work emails/information.

I was tempted by the MG Cyberster about a year ago, but for these reasons alone I didn’t look too much into it.

coyoteboy - 29/5/26 at 07:03 PM

quote:

They are turning cars into ‘white goods’. Identikit mass market dross…..

Almost all cars are these days, don't kid yourself that anyone is any better. It's what the consumer wants, people don't care about cars anymore, they just want a box to go from A to B. We are the dinosaurs.

TBH this is just natural cycle of things, we wanted to sell to them, they now want to sell to us. Will they have a cheap labour force to compete with ours - yes. Can we just make more premium cars instead - yes. But don't think for a second we are significantly better in any aspect, that's just old racist ways hiding in national pride.

Buy whatever suits your needs and wallet.

Sarah - 29/5/26 at 07:50 PM

Having seen how the Chinese bought and essentially closed Rover after saying they would be interested in making investments, then pulling the rug, tipping MGR to bankruptcy, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could spit.

Also, if you buy a chinese car now, be prepared to lose a lot of money - if it's cheap now, it will be worthless come replacement time due to flooding of market.

Benzine - 29/5/26 at 10:37 PM

We've been sending money abroad for decades. Choose local? Nah, send the money overseas for a cheap alternative.

Use a local shop and order something in? Nah, choose Amazon and get it a little cheaper and to hell with less tax paid towards our country.

Shall I use the human checkout at my local shop/supermarket? Nah, use the self-scan and take away money from my local economy and be happy with fewer local jobs.

EVERTHING you do is a vote, and the one that has the least effect is at the polling station. Your money is the the biggest vote you have by far! Choose local every time and the money comes back to your local economy. Choose a "Build Your Dream"* and you can kiss that all goodbye

*Seriously... "Build your dream"?!?! "Yes please. I'd like to place an order for a 'Build Your Dream Sealion" Jesus curseword Christ.

"Build your dream"?! Have we all gone clinically insane? Rude words.

coyoteboy - 30/5/26 at 10:50 PM

Nationalism and protectionism have been proven, time and time again, to be counterproductive. We live in an international market. We can't just buy local and everything will be fine. We aren't as dense as Trump, are we?

coyoteboy - 30/5/26 at 10:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Sarah
Having seen how the Chinese bought and essentially closed Rover after saying they would be interested in making investments, then pulling the rug, tipping MGR to bankruptcy, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could spit.

Also, if you buy a chinese car now, be prepared to lose a lot of money - if it's cheap now, it will be worthless come replacement time due to flooding of market.

You've seen how all investing companies make that call right? Even British ones. Money talks, not nations. If you buy a BMW now, expect it to lose even more as the cheaper cars flood the market with better tech and lower costs. If you think buying local, buying "quality" (a pseudo metric based on historic data not current), will save you some cash - go for it, but don't expect a local made vehicle to hold any more value.

But just to put some points. MG Rover was sold by a German group to a UK investment group who bankrupted it. The rights to the MG brand and tooling were bought by a Chinese who are currently using it. Rover was sold by BMW to Tata, as part of the JLR ownership, which currently very much makes vehicles.

[Edited on 30/5/2026 by coyoteboy]

Benzine - 2/6/26 at 08:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
Nationalism and protectionism have been proven, time and time again, to be counterproductive. We live in an international market. We can't just buy local and everything will be fine. We aren't as dense as Trump, are we?

You've confused individual consumer choice with government policy. Talk about "dense as Trump", more like "We aren't all as dense as a Trump voter, are we?" We all have choices as consumers. Some choices are entirely down to you, and some are not allowed or taken away from us. I'm just a poster in a kit car forum!

See hierarchy of intelligence below:

coyoteboy - 2/6/26 at 11:20 PM

I'm not, I'm talking about the economics of consumer choice. It just doesn't work and only ends up with less choice and higher prices all round. But each to their own, im all for everyone making their own calls on these things- life's a mix.