With China producing many cars, should we be happy?

Over the past few months more and more of my friends have been asking if they can buy a China-made car sometime in the near future. Such questions remind me of the British sci-fi writer Arthur C Clarke, who famously once said: “The only thing we can be sure of about the future is that it will be absolutely fantastic.”

Who would have believed 16 years after Clarke died in 2008 that China would become the world’s largest car market? Or that it would lead the world in electric vehicles?

When car buyers inquire about a China car, many of them ask not just in the context of the risk of being an early adopter. Their appetite has also been whetted by the attractive technology and prices for marquee cars from China.

It is only a matter of time before sophisticated car buyers stop questioning the risk involved in purchasing cars made in China. Instead, they will be more focused on which car offers the most advanced driving assistance technology.

For instance, we can expect that soon, cars designed by the smartphone maker Huawei – now all the rage in China – will be introduced into Asean countries.

There are about 200 car manufacturers in China, divided into two categories: government-owned and privately owned.

Shanghai Auto Industrial Company (SAIC) and Beijing Auto Industry Company (BAIC) are examples of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), while companies like Zhejiang-Geely, Chery and Great Wall Motors are privately-owned and generally more agile and innovative than the SOEs.

Most of the top Chinese SOEs and privately-owned car manufacturers are already invested in Malaysia.

Over the past 10 months since the nominations for the annual Malaysia Car of the Year awards kicked off last August, Chinese carmakers have launched some 26 new models and variants. These include seven EVs and one pickup truck, the Peugeot Landtrek, manufactured in Shenzen.

While most of the Chinese car companies have been set up over the past three years, a few have been here longer. Even before Zhejiang-Geely entered Malaysia via Proton in 2017, this country had already seen Chery automobiles, imported and distributed by entrepreneur Cam Soh since 2008.

His Chery Alado Automobile Sdn Bhd imported the Chery Eastar. This mid-size 2.0 litre petrol MPV was popular because of its pricing, but Soh’s China car business was probably ahead of its time and sales dwindled.

Since then, Chery has re-entered Malaysia’s automotive market in its own capacity as importer and distributor of its main brand as well as Jaecoo, a niche SUV brand.

More recently, Chery has overcome a minor hiccup in sales following two unrelated events involving quality control linked to the Omoda 5 went viral on social media, and has now recovered its momentum.

China car makers are mostly successful because of their collaboration with the best of the legacy marquees and automotive component conglomerates.

The question then is not whether we can buy China-made cars. For instance, Zhejiang-Geely cars, including the Proton X50 and the X70, launched earlier, have been extremely popular.

The real question should be about how reliable and trusted the importers and distributors of China-manufactured cars are.

Some manufacturers have already upped their game in terms of warranties, with options to extend the coverage period from seven to 10 years and for mileage of up to 1,000,000km.

Moving on, my burning question is not about cars but electric buses from China.

Several months ago, the transport ministry instructed that all new Rapid Buses are to be electric-powered from 2025.

Following this, in May, the government-linked Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd inked an MoU to test a Volvo electric bus. One would have thought Rapid Bus would also have tested electric buses from China, including those produced by BYD, which has about 15-20% of the world electric bus market.

But to come back to the original question asked of me, the fact that 20 million units are sold yearly in China is a clear signal that these cars are popular in their domestic market.

As for Malaysia, since we don’t have a “lemon law” to protect buyers, perhaps be a bit conservative and have a back-up transport plan if you plan to buy a new China car.

Or else, just wait a bit and observe over the next two years how the new companies handle the after-sales service for your friends who already own China-made cars. - FMT

Yamin Vong can be reached at his Facebook page, yamin.com.my.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.