Chery and GM settlement over QQ

chery_qqr_small.jpgUK magazine AutoExpress carried photos of the Chery QQ crash test results yesterday. Clearly European consumers are a little worried about the influx of Chinese cars into their market soon in the future, for example the new Nanjing-assembled MG Rover cars, the JiangLing Landwind, and the Geely Beauty Leopard. Bad crash test result photos (as well as some good ones?) of the Chery QQ have been around the internet for a long time, so it is not exactly breaking news for us. There are also accusations that the Chery QQ is a rip-off of the Chevy Spark, and there was a lawsuit but it was settled out of court and since dropped.

What raised my curiosity is this little excerpt from the article

A Chevrolet spokesman told us: “The QQ results are horrific. China clearly isn’t ready to sell cars in Europe.” After complaining about copyright infringement, Chevy’s parent firm GM made an out-of-court settlement with Chery which agreed not to sell the QQ outside China.

Since the Chery QQ is available here in Malaysia, is AutoExpress misquoting the Chevy spokesman?

Source: AutoExpress

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • drifting4eva (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 12:25 pm

    They allow Chery QQs to be sold in M'sia but not Europe/US??!! Guess M'sian lives are cheap enough to travel in these death traps on wheels.

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  • motorhead (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 12:39 pm

    proton should forget its plan to coop with china’s auto.. x bleh pakai punya.. byk ciplak.. super low cost & quality.. but china’s amoi not bad.. they r lovely…& rough… hehe…

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  • Dogster (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 4:39 pm

    We live in tak apa world. Die die la. :)

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  • Tracks (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 7:03 pm

    Although I agree with you guys that the Chery QQ level of safety is questionable, bear in mind that our local Perodua Kancil is not any better off. They are still able to sell in UK because it was approved for sale long ago. If the Perodua Kancil was subjected to the NCAP with the current standards, I think it would fail miserably as well. Ofcourse they are those who would like to remind me that our >20 years old Proton Saga is just as bad in terms of safety which I truly agree as well. But if a Saga and Kancil crashed head-on, my money is on the occupants of the Saga having a lower risk of injury plus a higher chance of survival compared to the occupants in the Kancil.

    But think about it, these low cost cars enable the low income group to afford something on four wheels with doors. No matter how bad the crash safety rating maybe, they are still better than riding a motorbike. For the middle income and above group, you have a choice to chose a vehicle that is safer and better. So the choice is yours.

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  • narrowband (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 7:41 pm

    What can I say. Even the safety features we have on our own national cars are standard on export models.

    I guess we can safely infer that these car manufacturers opine that Malaysians are competent drivers and do not get involved in crashes too often.

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  • KelvC (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 7:48 pm

    Paul, seriously, this is a real concern to all average Malaysians. Malaysia has to put up a legislation to prevent this land from being a dumping ground of unsafe and unreliable imported cars (emphasis on imported). Granted, at the end of the day all businesses has to be profitable but this has to be based on corporate social responsibility. Therefore, my recommendation is to obtain the cooperation and understanding of a lobby group, if there is none then form one, to drive the message that all imported (maybe in the future locally makes too) has to adhere to the safety standards (i.e. FMVSS, NCAP, etc).

    Justification? Simple:

    1. Cost of life

    2. Unbearable years of pain by love ones

    3. Possible lost of future potential of the decease

    4. Lost of productivity

    5. Need i go further?

    For further reading (I'm sure there are more):
    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/… http://auto.ihs.com/newsletters/auto-july03-stand…

    Best regards,

    – KelvC

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  • indothai (Member) on Aug 11, 2006 at 11:44 pm

    If safety is a concern, these cars wouldn't be so cheap. These manufacturers only want to sell cars, governments only want to see them sold, and people only want to buy them.

    Lives in China is still cheaper:
    http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-04/…

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  • matmoto_5125 (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 12:01 am

    woit motohead,dis is auto blog,not amoi blog.

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  • szw (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 12:37 am

    no hope lar .

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  • chrisbangle (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 2:01 am

    A foreign company needs a local partner to penetrate the local market in China. So Proton has chosen Chery Automobile as its partner as Proton also wants to tap into the huge market.

    If you've been to the rural places there, you will see small factories building their own cars using ladder-frames. It is simple, they copied the ladder-frame and the power train of some old junk and make a body on top of it. They make cars, SUV, pickup trucks and MPV using that same technology. Remember they came out with their own CRV? Theirs uses ladder-frame while the original CRV uses a monocoque.

    Chery and other big companies there are more modern though. If you check again, there are more than 50 car manufacturers in China, and more if you include the unlicenced ones.

    To many of them, the Saga is way better than their local products. With cheap labour and a big market, China remains to be the most lucrative market. The risk is, the local partners are very "savvy". Too savvy actually.

    To them, cheating is allowed. Hence why it is acceptable if you get fake money when you ask for your change.

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  • matmoto_5125 (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 2:11 am

    nice explaination..

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  • Isamu (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 2:30 am

    Copycat cars fail so miserably because they're made to match the low price. We have to assume that they would not have the proper specifications and drawings to refer to because all they need to do is to copy the dimensions and use their imaginations. Pablo Picasso at work?

    I would speculate that the Nanjing assembled MG Rovers would not be too far off the original British standard IF the localised components meet the specifications. Since Nanjing owns MG Rover, it would have access to the various engineering specifications and component drawings.

    Having said that, making a good car is not simple. Mass production of stamping, welding and injection parts are all not easy. Even the seemingly easy electrical parts are difficult to develop if you need to "pluck the specs from the sky". :)

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  • OtakOtak (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 7:05 am

    "matmoto_5125 said – woit motohead,dis is auto blog,not amoi blog".

    What wrong with motorhead statement, you seem like to make "katak di bawah tempurong" narrow view statement without just cause and excuse! Very funny and self contradictory who argue that using import (in previous post) like China product equate to globalization, in reality your statement is jaguh kampong mentality argument!

    If the above statement really hold true and you are the righteous one, then show to us it is so, you can take actions which may include but not limited to the following: –

    1. Go and screw up MD SZ as to why the MME Limited Edition for Waja and Gen-2 as posted by Paul included amoi which attract some visitor's attention more to the girl rather than the car it-self.

    2. Go to ask and complaint why KLIMS and all international motor show included amoi or beau in their exhibition. KLIMS claim it is international motor show, why included sexy and attractive amoi?

    3. Go and tell Sepang F1 why included amoi, they suppose the world class Formula 1 car racing, why the girls is there, nothing to do with F1? etc, etc, …… you asked yourself! ……..

    You also mentioned that I like to "kutuk". I would like to clarify that "kutuk" is means "condemn" and this is more reflected on you. I merely give ocnstructive critism (+ve bashing) to any topic within this blog discussion. If you cnnot take other people comment on you, better don't post comment in this blog.

    Back to Chery QQ car, no doubt it is unself and I don't deny that such car should not be allowed in this country. But the main "flaw" in our policy is NAP. NAP allowed P1 to produce damn 20++ year unsafe car, which lead to our G not truthfully implement strict safety policy as it won't pass the safety requirement! Therefore, it is not surprisingly this imported unsafe car can be landed in Bolehland. If G still maintain present NAP and protect P1, then it is not surprisingly more will come in. Perhaps in the near future when we are "as poor and as ugly" with few sauper rich crocs like some Central Africa states, it is not surprisingly this type of low quality and unsafe second hand or recond car even dump in our country! Ther is "demand" mah ………

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  • drifting4eva (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 8:02 am

    m'sia very different from china lor. m'sia only 25 million people but highly trained and educated. china has 1.2 billion people, most poor and uneducated. china can afford to lose thousands of people but m'sia cannot. we should be able to afford decent and safe car like our neighbors lah.

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  • Isamu (Member) on Aug 12, 2006 at 7:48 pm

    The thing that really disappoints in NAP is that it does not have a comprehensive plan on vehicle safety.

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  • Akazamabamaboo (Member) on Aug 13, 2006 at 12:57 am

    Consumers should be wise enough to decide on which car they wish to purchase.

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Aug 13, 2006 at 2:14 am

    yeah, somebody put it right. if proton doesnt fully endorse any Encap or those type of safety measures for passenger cars, then there is no need for other cheap manufacturers to do so.

    but if we can boycott proton, then most likely also can boycott these china companies. of course economic issues will arise, but for countries that wish to move ahead, the entry level cars also need to be engineered for safety. given that small cars with less parts and area to absorb smashes are already not safe, there is no need to make it worse than it is. Anyway, i expect china's motoring industry to leap frog past that of proton easily in terms of safety and performance. or they can produce the same quality car that cost significantly less.

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  • OtakOtak (Member) on Aug 13, 2006 at 9:12 am

    Akazamabamaboo said, "Consumers should be wise enough to decide on which car they wish to purchase".

    Actually consumers have highest level of wise decision to buy certain car based on their afforability/income or brand loyalty. The only and biggest "culprit" is NAP's super duper sucker unwise tax.

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