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Auto sales in China

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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 04:32 AM
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Default Auto sales in China

We all know how tough the economy is in the US. Compare that to what I recently heard about auto sales in China.

Ninety percent (90%) of all cars sold are paid-in-full (PIF) at the time of purchase! Hard to imagine given their price.

Cars are selling so fast that dealer show rooms can not keep up and they line brand new cars up along the side of the road to sell them.

While GM cars, especially Buick, are selling well in China, they are 100% locally built with no US worker involvement in the process. The only good news is profits do go back to the corporation which in turn should make it stronger.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 04:49 AM
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China has a rapidly growing middleclass that is hungry for consumer goods. This is why China is having issues with their economy as it is driven on exports and not consumption. This is also why there is a slow but sure shift to manufacturing in Laos and Vietnam. Even the Chinese are exporting work to these countries because they can do it cheaper than in China.

As far as car manufacturing I don't see any difference between Japanese cars being built here in the states and GM building them in China. It’s all part of the global economy.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 10:58 AM
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I've always wondered why the Chinese and old people like Buicks so much. Every other car driven by a whitehaired person down here is a Buick. Blows my mind. Buick could almost stay in business just selling cars to retirement communities.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 11:53 AM
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According to this article on yahoo,

Chinese car sterotypes

Mercedes Benz is the Buick of China and Buick is the Mercedes Benz of China.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by rich85tpi
According to this article on yahoo,

Chinese car sterotypes

Mercedes Benz is the Buick of China and Buick is the Mercedes Benz of China.

I'm not surprised, considering Pabst Blue Ribbon (aka PBR) is an expensive high-end beverage in China.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by mns2k
As far as car manufacturing I don't see any difference between Japanese cars being built here in the states and GM building them in China. It’s all part of the global economy.
As I understood it, the cars built in China were entirely of Chinese parts/construction. The Japanese cars I am familiar with may have been assembled in the US but many of the components were built in Japan. That may be changing with the times due to the value of money in each country.

To me the shocker was 90% pay cash for their car.
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by rich85tpi
Boy, they got it all right in that article....just like in the US of A:

"But no vehicle in China has developed as ironclad a reputation as the Audi A6, the semiofficial choice of Chinese bureaucrats. From the country’s southern reaches to its northern capital, the A6’s slick frame and invariably tinted windows exude an aura of state privilege, authority and, to many ordinary citizens, a whiff of corruption."

“Audi is still the de facto car for government officials,” said Wang Zhi, a Beijing taxi driver who has been plying the capital’s gridlocked streets for 18 years. “It’s always best to yield to an Audi — you never know who you’re messing with, but chances are it’s someone self-important.”
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by dlq04
....To me the shocker was 90% pay cash for their car.
Come on, Dave, we know that you always pay cash for your stable of vehicles
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Old Nov 16, 2011 | 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by paS2K
Originally Posted by dlq04' timestamp='1321485969' post='21162271
....To me the shocker was 90% pay cash for their car.
Come on, Dave, we know that you always pay cash for your stable of vehicles
Just that self-important A6.
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Old Nov 17, 2011 | 03:17 AM
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Originally Posted by paS2K
Originally Posted by dlq04' timestamp='1321485969' post='21162271
....To me the shocker was 90% pay cash for their car.
Come on, Dave, we know that you always pay cash for your stable of vehicles
And you don't, Jerry? If you can get interest-free financing it can be a good deal to finance but otherwise one is generally better off to part with the cash up front. (Although the term "part with the cash" is NOT in our dear Pas2k's vocabulary most of the time.)
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