Considering my "luck" on the recent Saab story, maybe I shouldn't post this?
Yesterday (Dec. 29th) the "crawl" on the nightly BBC-NEWS broadcast said that the Chinese government is strongly considering ending any backing/support for joint venture car companies that involve entities based outside China. This could just mean that joint ventures will continue, but they will no longer receive any government funds/tax breaks/"special favors".
The Chinese car industry has reached a point where it (apparently?) does not need the help of non-Chinese companies to produce "world class" vehicles. This isn't really all that unusual, as the car industry in many countries started with joint ventures or with licensing deals struck with "overseas" car companies.
Duke
SuperDork
12/30/11 2:35 p.m.
integraguy wrote:
The Chinese car industry has reached a point where it (apparently?) does not need the help of non-Chinese companies to produce "world class" vehicles.
They never DID need "joint ventures", since all they would do was buy a car, take it apart, and make molds and dies directly from the original, except with new badging and uglier grilles. What is it about SE Asian car companies and hideous grilles?
Strizzo
SuperDork
12/30/11 7:56 p.m.
and they still haven't made "world-class" cars either. you need look no further than the euro crash test ratings on them to see that.
oxygen, I can't breath, oh dear god that was funny.
I don't see them telling VW to piss off after all the time and money they have put into developing China's auto industry. I wonder how they mean stop subsidizing them?
Remove the 50% tariff they have on foreign built autos
Remove the mandatory 50.1% Chinese government ownership on all domestically built autos from foreign manufactures.
Or that they just don't see the point in giving the locals the breaks anymore because they are actually giving up and realize their cars aren't exported to an A market anywhere.
Awww PR staff
I will say this when I was at Guangzhou earlier this year I went to a book store and found manuals to everything you could imagine. I'm not talking Haynes manuals here. I mean technical schematics, drawings, assembley processes, EVERTHING you need (except money) to open a factory and build VW, Audis, Buicks, Hitachi TVs, Samsung Cells phones, iPads,
You name it was there for sale.
dinger
New Reader
1/1/12 11:15 a.m.
Wait, so China brings in outsiders who specialize in a particular industry, then kicks them out when they have stolen the knowledge they need?
Say it isn't so!! 
Let's hope the foreign mfgs. had nothing to do with these:
At least the cargo would make it through okay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D827IxEJVS4
This looks like a Rodeo, but the US version tested pretty well in crashes. Obviously there were corners cut.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx5JpY9DM_k&feature=related
Ouch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5SRyG6UR2A&feature=relmfu
