Trade war delays Chinese automaker GAC's entry into US

Chinese auto maker GAC will delay its entry into the US market until 2020 because of the trade war between Beijing and Washington, a company executive said Monday at the Detroit auto show.

"We originally had the plan to launch our first vehicle in the US at the end of 2019," GAC President Yu Jun said through a company interpreter.

"However we have postponed our plans due to the recent development on trade. We're making steady progress towards it."

GAC now planned to launch its first product in the US in the first half of 2020, Yu said.

Beijing and Washington remained locked in a trade war that could escalate as soon as next month, when the Commerce Department is expected to deliver a report on possible new auto tariffs.

Analysts predict rapid contraction in the auto industry should more tariffs take effect.

"Tariffs would be devastating to the entire industry," said Robert Carter, chief of Toyota's North American sales, adding that vehicle prices would increase and suppress sales.

Cox Automotive chief analyst Jonathan Smoke said 47 percent of the vehicles sold in the United States in 2018 were imported.

"Tariffs already had an impact in 2018," he said. "We believe about two percent of today's prices are because of the tariffs that were already implemented."

The average price of a car in the United States was $36,000 in 2018, up more than three percent from the previous year.

The privately-held GAC Group, which is participating in its fifth Detroit show, said it will open its third US research and development center on Tuesday in Detroit.

lo-nov/dg

TOYOTA MOTOR

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Jaguar Land Rover, Ford to slash jobs
London (AFP) Jan 10, 2019
Thousands of auto sector jobs are set to go across Europe, Jaguar Land Rover and Ford announced Thursday, under major restructuring as consumers dump diesel cars for greener electric vehicles. Brexit-facing JLR will axe around 4,500 mostly UK jobs, the Indian-owned carmaker said, after a slump in Chinese sales last year. US carmaker Ford said it planned a major restructuring of its European operations, including job cuts, to boost profitability. Reports said the number of Ford positions set ... read more