The Metro: Is China the future of the global automotive industry?

Detroit has been the epicenter of the global automotive industry for more than a century. Although foreign competitors from around the world have taken big bites out of America’s market share, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis still command a huge piece of global production and sales. And that continues to fuel the local economy here in Southeast Michigan.  

But according to some experts, a major disruption is on the horizon, and this time it’s coming from China.

Michael Dunne is the CEO of Dunne Insights and he’s one of the leading thinkers when it comes to the auto industry in China. He recently wrote in his newsletter that by the end of the decade, China’s market capacity could climb to 75% of the world’s volume. Dunne joined The Metro on Monday to discuss the growing Chinese automotive market.

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Dunne explains that “it’s not a matter of if, but when” China becomes a major automotive challenger. 

“This year, China will build more than 30 million vehicles, that’s three times what America makes. China will build more electric vehicles than all other countries combined,” Duanne says. “Probably most important, China’s able to build these cars at 20–30%, more cheaply than we are here in the U.S. or even in Europe.”

According to Dunne, China is sending a great number of cars to Mexico, the U.K., Brazil and other countries across the world except for the U.S. And it isn’t only Chinese auto companies producing cars in China, but also legacy automakers like Detroit’s Big Three producing cars there.

“These companies are turning to China as a production hub for export to markets globally,” Dunne said. “So this is a really disconcerting, alarming trend. Not just the Chinese automakers are liking their chances exporting out of China, but the global automakers too are joining the trend.” 

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Dunne.

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