For BYD (affectionately named Build Your Death by members of the media), this will be a return appearance, having been at last year’s show. For Brilliance Auto, this will be their first visit to any car show in North America.

Brilliance is a partner company to BMW and plans to begin selling its first cars in the United States later in 2009.  The automaker gained notoriety in 2008 when its BS6 (nice name, eh?) miserably failed a European car crash test, earning a one-star rating. Later in the year, the automaker redid the test, but still only managed three-stars. The company says that by the end of 2008 their American bound vehicles will meet stringent safety requirements, supposedly these same vehicles will be on display in Detroit.

To date, no Chinese manufacturer has sold a single model in the U.S. Back in 2005, Chery Automotive was planning to enter the U.S. market, even partnering with a U.S. distributor who planned to bring several models stateside. That plan never worked out.

Geely Automobile Holdings Limited has also considered selling cars in North America, but the automaker has yet to move in that direction. Changfeng Motors was the first automaker from the PRC to display its cars in Detroit, having made the trip there in 2007.

Chinese cars have a distinct price advantage thanks to very low wages and minimal design effort. Take a look at most any Chinese vehicle and you’ll notice a similar pattern across most model lines — designs were ripped off from other manufacturers, though PRC courts have upheld these copyright violations.

BTW, BYD actually means Build Your Dreams — we’ll let you decide if the media’s depiction was a fair one or not!

Brilliance On Display At The NAIAS In January 2009

Though Chery will not be selling their cars stateside anytime soon thanks to a business venture that went bust,2 Chinese automaker Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited will be displaying their cars at the 2009 NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show) and hopes to begin selling several models in the US next year.3

According to Motor Trend, which broke this story, Brilliance plans to ship its, “…BS6 midsize sedan, BS4 compact car, BC3 sport coupe, and FRV hatchback” to Detroit. No Brilliance model currently meets US safety and emissions standards, a requirement before these models can be shipped to the US. According to the MT article Brilliance is insistent that these vehicles will by the end of this year.

Sedans, Minibuses, and BMW Cars

Brilliance is one of several Chinese automakers whose business is booming alongside foreign makes led by Volkswagen, General Motors, Hyundai, and others. Brilliance was founded in 1992 and currently builds what they call minibuses and Zhonghua sedans. The company partnered with BMW in 2003 to build 3-Series and 5-Series models in China and has the ability to manufacture gasoline engines and select automotive components. Brilliance currently has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles divided between 120,000 minibuses and 180,000 sedans.4

Cheap Cars ala Hyundai?

Should Brilliance succeed in getting their cars to pass stringent American safety and pollution regulations, we could see 1986 all over again. That is the year when Hyundai entered the US market with its $3700 Excel, a car based on an aged Mitsubishi platform. That model sold well, but also revealed a then glaring problem with Hyundai cars: they were junk.

Likely, Brilliance models will be priced lower than anything else on the market, though government regulations and international exchange rates could make it difficult for the company to go too low without losing money. Unlike Hyundai, which even then had the capacity to build and ship many more cars then what Brilliance can manufacture today, the automaker isn’t likely to flood the US market.

Of course, that could all change if capacity is ramped up, something that will probably happen if American consumers embrace Chinese cars.

Speaking of Copies…

Chinese automakers have a reputation for stealing designs of models made elsewhere. In July 2008 an Italian court ruled that the Great Wall Motor company stole the design of the Fiat Panda with its Peri model. A judge slapped a $23,000 fine on the first Peri to be imported to Italy with fines more than tripling for subsequent violations.5

Other foreign manufacturers have complained about their models being stolen which have included the Chevy Spark, Toyota RAV4, and a Daihatsu model. Also recently, Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile was found by a German judge to be selling pirated copies of the BMW X5 and was ordered to destroy these vehicles.

References

1 Keegan, Matthew (2007, August 1). Chery Automobiles: China’s Auto Wars Begin. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from The Article Writer Web site: http://www.thearticlewriter.com/chery-automobiles-chinas-auto-war-begins.htm

2 Terlep, Sharon (2008, July 22). Chery Sued by Bricklin. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from The Wall Street Journal Web site: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121666698574971081.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

3 Martinez, Nate (2008, August 19). China’s Brilliance set to display at Detroit show, vows 2009 U.S. market debut. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from Motor Trend Web site: http://wot.motortrend.com/6286028/auto-news/chinas-brilliance-set-to-display-at-detroit-show-vows-2009-us-market-debut/index.html

4 (2008). Brilliance Auto. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from Company at a Glance Web site: http://www.brillianceauto.com/company/overview.html

5 (2008, July 24). AsiaNews.it. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from Chinese automaker found guilty of copying Italy’s Panda car Web site: http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12843&size=A

External Links

Brilliance Auto (corporate site)

Chery Automobile Co. (corporate site)