Why China continues playing catch up

July 21 2011 at 04:49pm
By Jesse Adams

Looks just like the Fiat Multipla, except this is actually the Zoyte Multiplan.

Chinese car brands only need more time, and with some “practice” will become the next great automotive superpowers with quality perceptions to rival even the neatest and tidiest Korean and Japanese models.

That’s what the Chinese carmakers want us to believe anyway, and many industry insiders would agree with them. I, however, don’t and I’ll tell you why.

As I’m sure you’re well aware, the Chinese are busy mass producing everything in sight and as a country China has the manpower and space to monopolise every industry known to man. Thing is, in many cases the product is copied from higher quality specimens made elsewhere in the world, and is often of inferior quality. Up until now this philosophy of churning out cheaper versions of everything by the millions and selling it in bulk has been well received. I mean, who wouldn’t opt for a packet of 100 plastic forks priced well below one single (higher quality) plastic fork made in Germany or the USA for instance?

The thing is, by supporting the factory in China that mass produces these forks, as well as the local entrepreneur importing the forks in bulk, we’re making a statement that quality is of little importance and eventually heavy-duty plastic forks will become extinct. I may have strayed from my original point a bit there, but what I’m asking is, at what point does China decide that it will start making better forks? It won’t because it’s doing just fine with substandard ones.

The Chinese car industry is very young, at least as far as exports to markets like ours goes, and it would take a brave man to assume that from China’s automotive offerings over the past four years or so, that the rest of Chinese automotive eternity will follow similar suit. I’ll go out on a limb and be that man.

Every Chinese car that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot, are shoddy and that’s being kind. Some would argue that they’re getting better with time, and this is true to a degree, but even the best Chinese cheapie is still a far cry from the quality we expect from slightly more expensive Korean or Japanese equivalents. Why is this?

The Chinese have all the ingredients to make good quality cars right now. I’ve visited the state-of-the-art factories and seen the European-sourced tooling; so why are the vehicles being spat off these fancy assembly lines so flawed with inconsistent panel gaps, second-rate materials and general disregard for detail?

I would like to say that it’s not in the Chinese manufacturing nature, but my brand-new Apple iPhone throws a spanner into that argument. It’s made in China and it’s a technological marvel free of imperfection. How is it that a factory, probably not far from one making crappy cars, can mass produce such a perfect piece of electronica? I assume that there are people fanatical about quality checks (probably sent from Apple in California) constantly monitoring the assembly process. Why then, if China is so serious about breaking into world markets with its automobiles, can’t it employ people like these in its carmaking facilities?

The answer is because it doesn’t have to. When a Chinese car brand launches into a market like South Africa, determines the highest price acceptable for its inferior product and flogs it to you because you wanted a cheap new car, why would said brand be motivated to increase its quality perception?

I would have much less of a gripe if these Chinese cars cost less than they do. A Chinese scooter copied from a proper Italian one can be bought here at around 83 percent savings, and likewise a Chinese-built heavy-duty tipper truck costs around 35 percent less than a comparable German one in SA (granted scooters don’t suffer the same import tax as cars and trucks are brought in in semi-knock-down format).

At the recent Shanghai Motor Show I witnessed first hand hundreds of Chinese-made vehicles that were blatant rip-offs of models from more established brands. How does Geely get away with copying Suzuki’s SX4 and calling it an SX5? How does Great Wall Motors get away with plagiarising VW’s Amarok bakkie? This must be illegal, but more importantly, how are we supposed to take this booming new Chinese automotive industry seriously when it can’t even design a car on its own?

If one thing is for sure, it’s that these carmakers won’t stop. There’s been way too much money invested already, and with such valuable carrot dangling on the line the Chinese will continue to reach for it. All we can do is encourage better quality or cheaper pricing, and the only way we can do that is with wiser choices at our dealerships. Is the 15 percent you’ll save by buying a cheap Chinese copy of the real thing worth it in the long run? For many I suspect so. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. -Star Motoring

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Anonymous, wrote

04:30pm on 25 July 2011

This correspondent clearly has not seen some of Geely's own designs.