The Car Makes the Man in China

“Chinese may or may not like America, but they definitely like the power that’s associated with America. They admire, respect, and like power and America is the world’s leading superpower, so owning an American car offers an opportunity to be part of that.’’ -- Michael Dunne, a Jakarta-based industry analyst and author.

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"Ford to build another Chinese auto plant; Adds 3d plant in rapid effort to expand there" by Keith Bradsher  |  New York Times, April 20, 2012

HANGZHOU, China - Ford Motor has chosen China for its largest factory expansion program in a half century, announcing Thursday that it would build a $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou, two weeks after announcing another $600 million plan to build a new assembly plant in Chongqing and less than six weeks after completing a third assembly plant in Chongqing.  

Just wondering what was wrong with America.

Ford is late to China’s party, and its new factories will open in a slowing, increasingly competitive Chinese market. Rapid factory construction in China is a throwback to the company’s last big factory building campaign in the 1950s, when models like the Thunderbird captured the hearts and wallets of young Americans and when Ford was racing to increase capacity in postwar Europe, Australia, and South Africa....  

Meaning the MONEY IS NO LONGER in YOUR POCKET, Americans! The CORPORATIONS STOLE IT ALL as they SHIPPED YOUR JOBS OVERSEAS!

Ford’s planned expansion comes as a long list of Japanese, European and US automakers are also building more factories and face competition from fast-growing, low-cost Chinese manufacturers....

Ford’s late start in the Chinese market has given it another liability: Most of its operations are far from the coast in western China, making it much harder to export cars someday if the Chinese market cannot absorb them.

The company’s sprawling factories in Chongqing, owned through a joint venture with one of China’s largest state-owned weapons makers, also cannot easily import or export auto parts.

The inland operations are also far from China’s wealthiest cities, which tend to be close to the coast, although inland cities are also starting to become more prosperous as well....  

This as your cities turn into dumps, America.

Ford opened early last month what is essentially a new assembly plant in Chongqing with an annual capacity of 150,000 cars, although for regulatory purposes it is an extension of an existing assembly plant that is a 10-minute drive away. Two weeks ago, Ford announced it would increase its capacity at the new assembly plant by 350,000 cars a year by expanding the new operation and by building yet another assembly plant next door....

As auto executives from around the world prepare to gather Monday for media days at the Beijing auto show, the talk is also likely to revolve around another problem that has started to surface in the Chinese market: rampant discounting at dealerships....

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Also see: Sunday Globe Special: Globe Loves Chinese Cars