{"id":302701,"date":"2021-09-23T14:09:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T04:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/?p=302701"},"modified":"2024-10-09T18:48:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T07:48:05","slug":"japanese-american-car-makers-falling-behind-china-electric-cars-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/cars\/japanese-american-car-makers-falling-behind-china-electric-cars-quality","title":{"rendered":"American &amp; Japanese Car Makers Are Going To Be Left Behind By China"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The automotive industry is currently in the midst of a paradigm shift. Well, multiple paradigm shifts, really.<\/p><p>The first is the move towards electrification. More and more car brands are investing heavily in electric vehicles (EVs) with some even committing to completely phase out fossil fuel-powered cars in the near future, such as Bentley, Jaguar, Lotus, MINI and Volvo. Even Ferrari has released its first hybrid vehicle, the SF90 Stradale.<\/p><p>The second is the rise of China as an automotive powerhouse. China has long since eclipsed the United States as the world\u2019s biggest car manufacturing nation, but Chinese cars have long suffered from a (not entirely undeserved) perception that they\u2019re low-quality, and haven\u2019t always succeeded outside of the People\u2019s Republic.<\/p><p>But that\u2019s changing rapidly. In countries like Australia, Sweden and Norway, vehicles from Chinese marques such as the MG3 and Polestar 2 have become some of the best-selling vehicles in their respective markets. The paradigms are colliding, too: China leads the world in EV manufacturing and a Chinese EV, the Wuling Hongguang Mini, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/cars\/china-peoples-tesla-wuling-hongguang-mini-ev-best-selling-electric-car\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is now outpacing the Tesla Model 3 as the current best-selling EV.<\/a><\/p>                <div class=\"row row-center collapse\">\n                    <div class=\"column\">\n                        <div class=\"dmg-ad\"><div id=\"incontent-1473437611\" class=\"ad-container\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var load_1640349447 = function () {googletag.cmd.push(function () {var slot_1640349447 = googletag.defineSlot(\"\/1017963\/DMarge\/incontent\",[[300,250],[320,100],[320,180],[336,280],[640,360]],\"incontent-1473437611\").addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting('refresh', 'true');if (gamData && gamData.sizeMap && gamData.sizeMap.hasOwnProperty('incontent')) {slot_1640349447.defineSizeMapping(gamData.sizeMap['incontent']);}googletag.display(\"incontent-1473437611\");});};adsQueue.push(load_1640349447);<\/script><\/div><\/div>                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"content-subscribe\">\n        <div class=\"subscribe-box\">\n            <p class=\"subscribe-title\">Curated news for men, <br\/>delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n            <form class=\"subscribe-form\" method=\"POST\">\n                <div class=\"subscribe-input\">\n                    <label class=\"screen-reader-text\" for=\"subscribe-email\">Email:<\/label>\n                    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" id=\"subscribe-email\" placeholder=\"Enter your email\" required class=\"form-control\" autocomplete=\"on\" \/>\n                    <button type=\"submit\" class=\"button button-primary subscribe-button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"source\" value=\"article\" \/>\n                    <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"_wpnonce\" name=\"_wpnonce\" value=\"e2df992756\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302701\" \/>                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"form-result\"><\/div>\n            <\/form>\n            <p class=\"subscribe-copy\">Join the DMARGE newsletter \u2014 Be the first to receive the latest news and exclusive stories on style, travel, luxury, cars, and watches. Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <p>In short, the \u2018threat\u2019 from China is real. But not all brands are doing what they need to, to keep up with China \u2013 or the industry more broadly. Specifically, many Japanese and US auto makers, who used to be on top of the industry, are falling behind.<\/p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-302733 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/toyota-mirai-920x613.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"920\" height=\"613\"><p>Japanese car makers, in particular, have become bizarrely reluctant to pursue battery electric vehicles (BEVs, i.e. totally electric cars). Toyota, the world\u2019s biggest car brand, is probably the worst culprit. Whilst they were an early innovator when it came to mild hybrids, such as the Prius, Toyota has stagnated in recent years, doubling down on mild hybrid and hydrogen technologies when it\u2019s become clear that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and BEVs are the way of the future.<\/p>                <div class=\"row row-center collapse\">\n                    <div class=\"column\">\n                        <div class=\"dmg-ad\"><div id=\"incontent-1425728470\" class=\"ad-container\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var load_2044677863 = function () {googletag.cmd.push(function () {var slot_2044677863 = googletag.defineSlot(\"\/1017963\/DMarge\/incontent\",[[250,250],[300,100],[300,250],[320,100],[336,280]],\"incontent-1425728470\").addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting('refresh', 'true');if (gamData && gamData.sizeMap && gamData.sizeMap.hasOwnProperty('incontent')) {slot_2044677863.defineSizeMapping(gamData.sizeMap['incontent']);}googletag.display(\"incontent-1425728470\");});};adsQueue.push(load_2044677863);<\/script><\/div><\/div>                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <p>Indeed, Toyota has actively lobbied the US Congress to slow policy moves towards BEV adoption, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/25\/climate\/toyota-electric-hydrogen.html?\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a> reports, and the company\u2019s president, Akio Toyoda, has even called EVs \u201coverhyped\u201d, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/toyotas-chief-says-electric-vehicles-are-overhyped-11608196665\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>.<\/p><p>Toyota\u2019s not the only culprit, either: Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda et al have all been very slow when it comes to BEVs despite previously being innovators when it came to electrification (although it must be noted that Honda has actually committed to divesting itself of petrol and diesel engines by 2040, the first and so far only Japanese car maker to do so.)<\/p><p>For some American auto makers, it\u2019s a similar story. While General Motors is planning to transition to carbon-neutral by 2040 and Ford of Europe has announced that its entire passenger vehicle range (plus two-thirds of its light-commercial vehicle range) will be fully electric by 2030, Ford\u2019s American operations haven\u2019t followed suit. Stellantis, the European mega-corporation that now owns the Chrysler Group, has announced ambitious plans to electrify 96% of its American offerings by 2025 \u2013 but that notably excludes their fuel-thirsty Dodge and RAM brands.<\/p>                <div class=\"row row-center collapse\">\n                    <div class=\"column\">\n                        <div class=\"dmg-ad\"><div id=\"incontent-1343378773\" class=\"ad-container\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var load_100792216 = function () {googletag.cmd.push(function () {var slot_100792216 = googletag.defineSlot(\"\/1017963\/DMarge\/incontent\",[[250,250],[300,100],[300,250],[320,100],[336,280]],\"incontent-1343378773\").addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting('refresh', 'true');if (gamData && gamData.sizeMap && gamData.sizeMap.hasOwnProperty('incontent')) {slot_100792216.defineSizeMapping(gamData.sizeMap['incontent']);}googletag.display(\"incontent-1343378773\");});};adsQueue.push(load_100792216);<\/script><\/div><\/div>                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <p>And that\u2019s crucial. Fuel-thirsty trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series and RAM 1500 are these American brands\u2019 biggest sellers. It amounts to greenwashing: there\u2019s little point electrifying other models if your biggest sellers are still fossil-fuel powered. Things may change in the truck space, however, with the arrival of BEVs like the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T\u2026<figure id=\"attachment_302734\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-302734\" style=\"width: 920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-302734 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/dodge-demon-drag-racing-920x518.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"920\" height=\"518\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-302734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, a car that\u2019s perhaps emblematic of America\u2019s automotive predicament: spending too much time making fuel-thirsty, niche vehicles on outdated chassis, rather than investing in new chassis and new technologies. Image: Top Gear<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p><p>The second area in which Japanese and US auto makers are falling behind China in is quality. American cars have always been considered somewhat dubious when it comes to overall quality, but Japan used to be the gold standard \u2013 that reputation is now slowly evaporating.<\/p><p>As Japanese auto makers have moved production offshore to countries like Thailand, Mexico and indeed, the United States, their bulletproof reputation has taken somewhat of a hit. South Korean brands have largely supplanted Japanese ones when it comes to making affordable, quality, reliable cars. Hell, they\u2019re even following the Japanese template of moving into luxury vehicles: Hyundai finding impressive success with their premium Genesis marque, for example.Something that\u2019s very telling about American car quality in particular, however, is how Chinese-made versions of American-designed cars are coming off production lines better made than their American counterparts.<\/p>                <div class=\"row row-center collapse\">\n                    <div class=\"column\">\n                        <div class=\"dmg-ad\"><div id=\"incontent-630411376\" class=\"ad-container\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var load_960386372 = function () {googletag.cmd.push(function () {var slot_960386372 = googletag.defineSlot(\"\/1017963\/DMarge\/incontent\",[[250,250],[300,100],[300,250],[320,100],[336,280]],\"incontent-630411376\").addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting('refresh', 'true');if (gamData && gamData.sizeMap && gamData.sizeMap.hasOwnProperty('incontent')) {slot_960386372.defineSizeMapping(gamData.sizeMap['incontent']);}googletag.display(\"incontent-630411376\");});};adsQueue.push(load_960386372);<\/script><\/div><\/div>                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <p>\u201cComparing vehicles that are built both in the West and China is particularly illuminating,\u201d Tom Stacey, a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in England <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/china-is-on-course-to-build-the-best-cars-in-the-world-167661\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relates<\/a>.<\/p><blockquote><p>\u201cTesla\u2019s Model 3 and Model Y cars are both built in the US and China, and owners in Europe have <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.teslaoracle.com\/2021\/03\/17\/uk-europe-model-3-shipment-mic-quality-issues\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported that<\/a> the Chinese versions are better. I hear that their all-important panel gaps are tighter, and fewer trips to the repair shop are required.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><h3>Watch Tesla\u2019s new Model Y\u2019s brutal crash-testing process<\/h3><div><div itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"Fri Jul 16 2021 10:38:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Tesla Crash-Testing Their Model Y\"><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"P0Y0M0DT0H0M26S\"><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/thumbs\/SCdDCrGX-1920.jpg\"><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/videos\/SCdDCrGX-8QgtGT8G.mp4\"><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/SCdDCrGX-KKjjplFe.js\"><\/script><\/div><\/div><p>So what do the US and Japan need to do if they want to stay on top in the car game?<\/p><p>Simple. Embrace electrification more earnestly; not as a fad but as the future of motoring. That\u2019s the first step. Second, they need to go back to the drawing board when it comes to quality control, and stop \u2018phoning it in\u2019. Part of this has to do with their reliance on stringing out vehicle designs and platforms for far longer than they really need to, in order to cut costs (something the Japanese are a little more guilty of than the Americans).Of course, it\u2019s easier said than done. But the reality is this: Europe is making all the fun and interesting cars, and China is making all the cheap, electric cars. The US and Japan don\u2019t want to get left behind.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time to make a pit stop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101060,"featured_media":302702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1167],"tags":[],"coauthors":[146236],"class_list":{"0":"post-302701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cars","8":"post_format-post-format-image"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101060"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302701"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmarge.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=302701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}