China made cars are playing the catch up game and the rate which they are catching up is scaring other car companies in Japan and Korea. Recently Chery hired a top designer from Porsche to design their new car. They followed the route which Kia took by hiring the Audi top designer. The result is obvious the new Chery car looking European and with a modern look.
The car's appearance is no longer boring and square. The new design makes the car look sophisticated, elegant and modern. Kia enjoyed tremendous success doing this and Chery looks set to see more success in the near future.
Other China car companies have also invested a lot to play catch up by hiring German engineers to help develop engines and drivetrains. Great Wall Cars recently introduced their 1.5 litre turbo engine pushing out 150ps which is commendable for a first effort. The history of Great Wall Cars is relatively short in comparison with Proton and yet it took them less than 8 years before coming out with their very first turbo engine while Proton took over 20 years!
Big names such as Borg Warner, Getrag, Monroe, Bosch and Delphi are now heavily involved in China to develop cars with China car companies. The technology transfer and collaboration is moving at such as fast pace that with each passing motorshow, so many new models are hitting the showrooms. Each model looking better than the previous and more technology being used.
It won't be long before China cars will be able to give Hyundai and Kia a run for their money and soon after that the Japanese cars. China car companies are cash rich and are able to buy technology to close the gap. The next step is to see the improvement in build quality and reliability.
It still remains a mystery if China car companies will enter motorsports to develop their technology and build their brand but with the high sales figures in China domestic market alone, they may just need to keep buying technology to move forward. Motorsports and racing may just not be necessary.
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