Daimler took the Beijing Jeep plant with it, among other assets, when it sold Chrysler. GAC now builds Jeep and Fiat models in China for FCA.
Cars made by an arm of the GAC Group, the parent company of Trumpchi cars – we are not making this name up – will be exported to the U.S. late in 2019, presumably as 2020 models.
One hopes they will be suited better to their purpose than their coincidental namesake, which might not survive the ocean voyage. GAC hopes it will be the first Chinese car brand to succeed in the U.S. market, despite years of promises from other firms. Trumpchi’s GS8 mid-size sport utility vehicle and its spacious GM8 minivan – the debut or debacle vehicles – are said by pundits to have reasonable levels of quality. We will see.
With the proposed elimination of the $7500 tax credit for electric vehicles that GAC also wants to import in Trump’s welfare for the super-rich and large corporations that just passed the House of non-representatives (your government subsidy now can vary), the future of GAC EVs is unknown.
Nonetheless pundits are speculating that China is eager to exploit the 2.5% U.S. import tariff while it still maintains a 25% tariff in its home market. China also demands a local partner to gain access to its market. Long gone – and now on the list of broken Trump campaign promises – is his plan to attack Chinese currency valuations and trade barriers that he said were unfair in an extraordinary rare moment of truth.
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
