Asia Times has two articles about the slowdown in China’s automobile industry. The first, “China’s Auto Industry Slows Down” is here. The second, “Gentleman, Kill Your Engines,” explores the consequences for foreign auto makers who have invested billions of dollars in capturing the China market: “Despite figures showing rising incomes and increased consumer spending, car-sales growth has evaporated almost overnight as the government continues its attempts to slow down the overheated sectors of the economy… Actually, many people living in China could have instinctively guessed that the auto boom was coming to an end. You only have to look out of the window in Shanghai, or especially in Beijing, to know that last year’s growth rates in car production and sales were unsustainable. Gridlocked traffic, unbearable air pollution and skyrocketing oil prices don’t make the best advertisement for a new VW Polo. ”
China’s auto industry in decline
Posted by Sophie Beach | Oct 1, 2004
