The fact that China’s car manufacturers have so far been weak in conquering Western markets has apparently not gone unnoticed by officials in the People’s Republic. The technology center of Shenzhen in the south of the country has now presented plans to greatly expand car exports in the future.
As the “Financial Times” reports
, sees the plan by the city government of Shenzhen, where the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer is also located BYD has its headquarters, proposes 24 measures. This includes supporting the construction of factories, opening new sea routes and allowing another 20 companies to export used cars. Western manufacturers’ concerns about growing Chinese competition are likely to be exacerbated by these plans, the newspaper said.
Nonetheless: So far, Chinese car manufacturers have made too many mistakes in their conquest of the West, say experts
. To change that, politicians in Shenzhen are now taking action. The package of measures was developed to “take advantage of the opportunities offered by the development of car exports” and to build an industrial cluster that connects the areas of car production, shipping and trade, the “FT” quotes from the city’s statement. At the same time, the goal is to make Shenzhen a “new generation, world-class motor city”.
In addition, according to the newspaper, local officials said they would introduce services to support auto exporters, including improving export insurance, speeding up tax refunds and encouraging Chinese banks to offer consumer financing to car buyers abroad. The plan also calls for exporters – similar to BYD – to buy more car transport ships in order to build up their own Chinese fleet of roll-on-roll-off ships.
The reason for the expansion plans of the Chinese auto industry is not only the hope for additional sales and profits worldwide. Rather, there is concern that China’s auto industry has far exceeded domestic capacity. This is also one reason why many of the cars that roll off domestic production lines will spill over into Western markets.
The Shenzhen plans are also likely to be noted carefully in Brussels. The EU is eyeing government support for the auto industry China been suspicious for some time. In September last year, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (65) announced that to investigate government subsidies for Chinese electric cars. U.S. officials also warned Beijing this month that Washington and its allies would take action if China tried to solve its industrial overcapacity problem by “dumping goods” in international markets.