Piece by piece, western brands have seen their perceived advantages over Chinese car companies eroded.
As was evident at the recent Beijing motor show, several Chinese car companies are now there or thereabouts with quality cars with international appeal yet that key issue of the quality and appeal of the brands and branding is very much a live argument.
It’s one thing appealing in your home market, quite another when being exported, particularly when so many brands and models are lumped together as ‘Chinese cars’ no matter what they are (including, I’m sure you’ll have noticed, in this piece already).
While the Chinese are still playing catch up on brands, it’s an advantage western car manufacturers are still keen to exploit and talk up, including BMW Group’s recently-appointed brand and sales boss (and ex-China chief) Jochen Goller, who spoke to me at the recent Beijing show.