Managing The Dragon

BYD and Geely have been the darlings of China’s auto industry. BYD, which its Chairman, Wang Chuanfu, says stands for “Beyond Your Dreams,” has received a great deal of media attention due to the large investment in the company made by billionaire Warren Buffet and its leadership position in electric vehicles. And, Geely broke the […]

As discussed in our recent recap of the Global Auto Forum 2010, one of the consensus views expressed at the GAF was that China will have substantial excess capacity in autos by 2015, and the resulting pressure to export vehicles may lead to significant trade tensions with countries that have large automotive industries (read the […]

Geely’s acquisition of Volvo is a watershed event for both the global auto industry and the international mergers and acquisitions business. The acquisition of a global auto brand by a relative industry newcomer from China demonstrates how quickly even major industries like automobiles are being transformed by the development of China’s economy. It also may […]

The global economy is much more stable today than it was at this time last year, but that doesn’t make 2010 any easier to predict. In January 2009, the debate was all about numbers. Would China’s economy grow by 8 percent as the government was predicting, 7.2 percent as the World Bank concluded, or considerably […]

Events continue to unfold in China’s rapidly changing automotive industry. The Financial Times summarized the most important of the recent developments: Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. wheeling its shopping cart around the world in search of distressed car assets like Sweden’s SAAB; Geely negotiating to acquire Volvo; and last but not least, General Motors selling majority […]

Periodically, China announces a new industrial policy directed at one or another of its industries. During the past year, the government announced plans to consolidate both steel and automotive. The reason: too many players and too much fragmentation. The announcement of these policies typically triggers a stream of questions about what this means for competitors […]

It’s hard to believe that just over 10 years ago Geely was producing $100 motorcycles for China’s local market for transportation. When Li Shufu, the company’s visionary founder and chairman, announced in 1997 that he wanted to enter China’s fast-growing passenger car business, everyone in the world, including nearly everyone in China, thought it was […]

Last week was particularly newsworthy in China, with an important milestone being reached and the release of positive economic data. The production of the 10 millionth vehicle by China’s auto industry this year represents a key milestone in the country’s development. Many government and industry officials gathered in Changchun, home to First Auto Works, to […]

When we look back 20 years from now, the year 2009 is likely to be viewed as the year in which the baton of leadership in the global auto industry passed from the United States to China. For the last 100 years, the American car market and American carmakers set the pace in the global […]

Somebody forgot to tell China’s carmakers about the global economic crisis. Nearly all are targeting big sales increases in 2009. In a roundup of strategies for 2009, the April edition of China Automotive Review, available only by subscription, noted the aggressive plans of the local assemblers compared to their more conservative, foreign-invested rivals. Here are […]