After Geely Automobile Company made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January, the first Chinese automaker to be featured in the NAIAS, more automakers from China are setting their sights on entering the U.S auto industry, the largest automotive market in the world. Chery Automobile, another Chinese automaker is also planning to import cars by 2008, through Visionary Vehicles founder Malcom Bricklin.
The latest Chinese automaker with ambitions to enter the U.S. automotive market is Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. The company claims that it will start production and sales of SUV’s and pickups as early as 2007. However, like its predecessor’s this Chinese automaker still has a long way to go before it can make a mark on the U.S. auto market. Currently, the total annual output of ZX Automobile is only a measly 7,480 vehicles. Also, its vehicle lineup doesn’t even meet U.S. safety and emission standards.
Source: Autoweek
June 28th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
These Chinese automakers still have a long way to go before they can corner even a small fraction of the U.S. auto market. However, we should also note that Korean automakers such as Hyundai and Kia also started at the bottom rungs and look at them now, steadily growing and giving a good fight against Japanese and Domestic industry giants.