Industry News: Ford's Chinese Partner Zotye Make Moves to Come to U.S.

[Drew Dowdell]

The battle to be the first Chinese automaker to make it in the U.S. is heating up. Ford's Chinese partner Zotye has been setting up agreements for about 20 dealerships in the US,  The goal is to bring the Zoyte T600 to the US in 2020. Previously Guangzhou Automotive had planned to bring their vehicles to the U.S. in 2019, but Trump's tariffs would delay their arrival. 

The T600, which looks like a cross between an Audi Q5 and previous generation VW Tiguan, sells between approximately $12,000 and $20,000 in China. 

Zotye plans to position themselves as a budget brand and is looking towards GM's Saturn dealership model as inspiration for its retailers.

Currently, the only Chinese built vehicles sold in the US are sold by US (Buick Envision, Cadillac CT6 PHEV) or European brands (Volvo S60 Inscription previous generation)

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[G. David Felt]

That is very interesting, If the tariff's are that high would that not make this a $18,000 to $26,000 vehicle unless they build an assembly plant here. 

I will say if they take a page from Hyundai for 10yr / 100,000 mile warranty and go with a set price model like Saturn, they will find buyers here as many hate the negotiation portion of auto buying.

The negotiation part is one of the reasons I think Costco auto buying process is so successful. Set pricing that allows dealerships to present an auto for sale and you accept it or not. Very simple, no stress buying.

[balthazar]

Any new volume-intended product needs to bring something new to the table. What are these offering that others in the extremely crowded segment don't?

[Drew Dowdell]

Low price. CRVs and Equinoxes get well into the mid $30k range these days.

[balthazar]

I'd 100 times sooner buy a 2-yr old domestic in the same segment.
Remember how hard the early hyundai buyers took it on the chin?

[Suaviloquent]

I wonder if it’s crash safety is any good. 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

I'd 100 times sooner buy a 2-yr old domestic in the same segment.
Remember how hard the early hyundai buyers took it on the chin?

More true words were never spoken. Even current Hyundai products depreciate in an epic manor.

[balthazar]

Not even talking about depreciation- my reference was to the abysmal quality.

[A Horse With No Name]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Not even talking about depreciation- my reference was to the abysmal quality.

My inlaws suffered through one of those vehicles.

[balthazar]

I think it's only fair; just saw a current Cadillac article this month that opened the piece with a pic of the Cimarron. IMO, I'll wait a good 35-40 years from when a Chinese brand appears here to give them any benefit of doubt of being decent.

[Suaviloquent]

It’s just uninspired. 

 

Remember Mahindra? They tried to sell an imported diesel pickup truck and it was massively overpriced and got abysmal fuel economy. 

Now how can they market this product like this and expect it to even work?

[daves87rs]

Like anything else cheap-it will sell. 

Offer something that shows it can do the job-and watch it eat sales alive.....

[regfootball]

is it inevitable that one day, 90% of all "Chevrolets" are made in China? just out of necessity to fight off invading Chinese brands?

 

[A Horse With No Name]

5 hours ago, regfootball said:

is it inevitable that one day, 90% of all "Chevrolets" are made in China? just out of necessity to fight off invading Chinese brands?

 

Actually, yes. 

[Robert Hall]

I think they will need a different brand name for the US...'Zotye'?   Reminds me of the musician Gotye.   This is the SUV equivalent of those cheap Chinese TV brands you see in Wal-Mart and other places for much less than the major TV brands..

[Drew Dowdell]

12 hours ago, balthazar said:

I'd 100 times sooner buy a 2-yr old domestic in the same segment.
Remember how hard the early hyundai buyers took it on the chin?

There are people out there who will never buy used.  I'm not saying it is a good prospect... but if Mitsubishi can keep the lights on, so can these Chinese players. 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I think they will need a different brand name for the US...'Zotye'?   Reminds me of the musician Gotye.   This is the SUV equivalent of those cheap Chinese TV brands you see in Wal-Mart and other places for much less than the major TV brands..

They could call it pián yi which is chinese for Cheap! ?

 

[riviera74]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

Not even talking about depreciation- my reference was to the abysmal quality.

Ah yes, Hyundai/KIA back in the 1990s.  Only when the 10yr/100,000mi warranty debuted in 2001 did Hyundai/KIA shed their reputation for poor quality.  Cheapness is another story.

[A Horse With No Name]

6 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Ah yes, Hyundai/KIA back in the 1990s.  Only when the 10yr/100,000mi warranty debuted in 2001 did Hyundai/KIA shed their reputation for poor quality.  Cheapness is another story.

They are still not up to snuff in my opinion...