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by xp84
28 days ago
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Source? They’re cheaper, but I’ve seen zero proof they are less long-lasting than our cars. If anything, those who have tried them say they’re better cars, including the Ford CEO, who imported one and can’t say enough good things about it. |
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Since the endless price war started in 2023, many cars in the tens-of-thousands to low-hundreds-of-thousands RMB range (affordable by most people) have had serious quality problems because of price cuts, including joint-venture cars (foreign-brand cars produced in Chinese factories).
This is the world’s largest car market, where the best-selling ICE car last month could only rank 17th overall. It is also a market where you can buy an Accord for under $20,000, and a Corolla for a little over $11,000. And both are going to be discontinued because it is no longer competitive and sells badly.
When the price goes up, the car itself is usually much better. At least it is not like earlier cheap BYDs, which could start rusting everywhere after just one year.
But the very short development and production cycle is another big problem. In this fiercely competitive market, sometimes it takes less than half a year from the birth of a car brand to a model launch. Recent examples are Huawei GT7.
Because new cars are getting better so quickly, many cars cannot keep sales for more than six months. Some are discontinued in less than a year, like Han L and Tang L. Some cars even get three updates in one year, like Zeekr 001, just to keep up with new cars.
This obviously creates maintenance and after-sales problems.
By comparison, Xiaomi, which changes generation every two years, is already one of the most traditional and conservative ones. This is also the car Ford’s CEO “imported one and can’t say enough good things about it”. I have driven it too, haha.