If you enjoy Chinese products such as poisoned dog food, lead painted toys and toxic drywall - have we got the car for you!
Its China's Chery automobile - stolen designs, flimsy construction - and desperately trying to come to a dealer near you. Crash test video on YouTube that demonstrates its ability to crumple like a piece of tin foil in a low mileage collision are horrifying enough to appear more like a spoof than a real test.
Chery Automobile is China 's biggest automaker and has much in common with most large Chinese manufacturers. It is owned by the government and subsidized by the government since inception.
The first Chery cars rolled off the line in the late 1990s for export as the Chinese government was still limiting the number of cars on the road at that time. Like many other technology-based products from China , Chery's designs were stolen, notably from South Korean Daewoo models and the Chevy Spark, a high efficiency mini-car that was scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in 2011.
In its first full operational year, Chery only produced 2,000 cars, but sold 410,000 units in 2008, exporting 130,000. Soon to be the largest carmaker in the world, Chery sells or manufactures cars in China and over 50 countries, including Iran , Syria , Turkey , Philippines , Egypt , Uruguay and Brazil . It is the largest supplier of autos to Russia , but its cars still do not meet the safety standards of Japan , Europe and the U.S.
This is the month that GM went into bankruptcy and Chrysler reorganizes. Both carmakers had negotiated at some point with Chery in a bid to bring a model to the U.S., but as part of its concession package with the United Auto Workers, GM agreed - for now - not to import the Chery.
Chery's negotiations with Chrysler fell through late last year, but Chrysler has been in negotiations with China 's Great Wall Motors for a similar manufacture and export strategy. Although on hold for now, Chinese carmakers have noted publicly they are still actively pursuing strategies for entering the U.S. market.
Illegal government subsidies to Chinese manufacturers are widespread and huge, and the car industry is no exception. Its start up costs were absorbed by the government and is currently receiving huge subsidies from China's stimulus plan, an additional $1.4B for energy-saving technology, and billions more from the Chinese Export and Import Bank to boost export production. Layer billion of dollars of steel subsidies for materials before cars even hit the assembly line, and no other carmakers in the world can compete on a level playing field with China 's artificial prices.
China's illegal subsidies, labor abuse, lax adherence to environmental regulations, and currency manipulation leave U.S. manufacturing running up a rocky hill barefoot with an elephant strapped to its back.
Cheating does get you there faster - and China sold 1.1 million cars in March, finally exceeding U.S. sales as our numbers dropped by 34%. Spurred on by the problems our domestic carmakers are facing, it is perched to become the world's largest auto supplier - by some accounts - by the end of 2009. It is estimated that between 800,000 and 1 million new cars hit the road in China each day, and 80% of those are owners' first cars.
Chinese manufacturers are bi-focused on high efficiency electric and hybrid mini cars and high-end luxury SUVs and sedans, and the Chinese government has set a goal of 10 million units for its manufacturers in 2009.
With its aggressive market strategy and its April Shanghai Auto Show becoming "the place to be seen" almost overnight for Chinese, pan-Asian and western manufacturers, China is currently the greatest force in global auto sales. Even billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros are actively seeking to invest in its great leap forward into substandard cars.
Based on history and crash testing, driving a Chinese car is roughly equivalent to adding wheels to a dishwasher and expecting it to survive a collision. At over 100,000 deaths per year, China leads the world in traffic fatalities.
Let's not wait for the China auto anschluss - there is no time like the present for American consumers and policy makers to preemptively block these un-safe, spawn-of-cheating cars from darkening the doorstep of American roadways.
Kerri Toloczko is a senior analyst for the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) and served as a Republican appointee to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) is a unique non-partisan, non-profit partnership forged to strengthen manufacturing in the U.S. AAM brings together a select group of America's leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers. Our mission is to promote creative policy solutions on priorities such as international trade, energy security, health care, retirement security, currency manipulation, and other issues of mutual concern.
