Initially, local manufacturers abandoned research and development, and focused on copying the design of Western cars and offering them at much lower prices. This generated several copyright disputes, while more than one model made by local Chinese automakers caused a feeling of déjà vu.
But a decade ago Chinese brands began setting up plants identical in almost every way to factories in the West, while the government put heavy pressure on Western automakers to transfer their latest, most advanced technology to China as a condition of do business.
China launched in 2017 a Medium and long-term automobile development plan, whose goal is to make the Asian country a “strong” automotive power in ten years. This plan highlights the development of electric and autonomous vehicles as an opportunity for China to master these emerging technologies.
The Asian country’s strategy has been to build huge factories, with a capacity greater than local demand, thinking of exporting the excess, which had a notable boost in 2018, when local demand began to stabilize after several years of double growth. digit, and the Chinese government saw exports as a way to maintain production.
A year earlier, in March 2017, the JAC brand had arrived in the Mexican market at the hands of a local partner Giant Motors Latin America, which would be in charge of the final assembly and marketing of the models. A year earlier, Baic had landed in the local market.
The pandemic gave Chinese manufacturers an additional boost, which managed to secure chip supplies and that put them in a better position than their Japanese, European and American competitors to guarantee inventories.
“Chinese factories were the first to experience semiconductor shortages, but they were also the fastest to secure supplies. Thanks to this we have immediate availability,” says Jimena Sáenz, director of Motornation, which brings together the three Chinese brands Baic, Changan and JMC.
In the last six years they have arrived in Mexico seven chinese brands -the last of them will begin the commercialization of models in 2023- that already concentrate around 5% of new car sales in the country. To these are added the Chinese-manufactured models that are sold in Mexico with the license plate of other brands, such as Chevrolet, Peugeot, Jeep and Ford. Soon Volkswagen will introduce a Chinese manufacturing model to Mexico.
Today Mexico is the market in which the Chinese brand JAC sells more cars outside of their country of origin. This brand is the second most sold Chinese in Mexico, after MG, which in just two years was positioned within the 10 most sold.
“The customer conversation has changed. They no longer reach dealerships by touching the foil to see if it doesn’t fall apart. Now they come because they see us as an alternative to access technologies at a good price”, says Isidoro Massri, director of Jac in Mexico.