General Motors plans to start importing Chinese-built vehicles into the U.S. in 2011, according to an outline the auto maker has submitted to members of the U.S. Congress.
A summary of the plan, obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, shows that GM plans to import 17,335 Chinese-built vehicles into the U.S. in 2011. The imports from China would jump to more than 38,000 in 2012 and more than 53,000 in 2013, the document shows. Imports from other countries, including South Korea, Japan and Mexico, would also increase. The plan is part of a broader cost-cutting strategy by GM, which has said it intends to cut 21,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. while increasing imports into the country. Wall Street Journal
However, a spokesman for GM in Shanghai said it was “only a matter of time” before vehicles made in China are imported into the company’s home market, in another blow to the US car industry.
“The production quality here is the same as Luton in the UK or the US. We may not be fitting them with all the specifications but that does not mean we can’t,” he added.
“In a perfect world, you produce vehicles where you sell them. That’s how it should be. But if it doesn’t make sense economically to have two factories because you do not sell enough volume then it might make sense to have one location,” he explained.
Although GM is struggling globally, its operations in China continue to be a huge success. Sales in March rose by more than 50pc to 151,000 cars, compared to 172,000 in the US. GM has invested in research and design facilities alongside its Chinese partners and says it could design and produce a car wholly inside China within 12 to 24 months.
The company also conceded that China could eventually become a more important market than the US. Telegraph.co.uk
China’s internal demand has been so great, there’s been little incentive to export. Plus, China is still a developing market that has lower quality standards than the U.S.
The automaker is operating on billions of dollars in government loans, and is seeking more. The government’s interest is in saving U.S. jobs, both at the automaker and its suppliers. Importing cars from China doesn’t exactly further that interest.
Chrysler had talked about becoming the first importer of Chinese cars a couple of years ago, but they would have gone to Mexico and other developing countries. The deal fell apart. USA Today
| 
|