The Curious Case of Chinese Cars

Over the past few years we’ve been seeing more and more Chinese car companies entering the Philippine market. I am sure that everyone is familiar with the likes of Foton which has been in our market for several years now. There are newer entries such as the relaunched Geely and Chery which both came in 2019. Everyone is also probably familiar with how Chinese cars were around 10 years ago. With most of them having left our market a few years ago and with some returning stronger, in addition to many new entrants, what exactly makes them different now?

In all honesty, the Chinese cars we knew before were really no good. Many car brands from China were infamous for being copycats when it comes to design. There’s the Geely Merrie which definitely looks no different from a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and then there’s the Lifan 320 which is obviously a copy of the fun compact MINI Cooper.

Despite these cars looking like obvious copies of their European and other counterparts, some were actually quite popular in our country. A great example of this is the Chery QQ, a small subcompact hatchback that’s about the size of the Hyundai Eon and looks like a copy of the Daewoo Matiz.

Despite its poor build quality and performance, people bought it because it was cheap…and cute. But that didn’t last long as well. That created a negative image in the eyes of Filipino car buyers and it didn’t help at all as Chery had to leave the country and even attempted to re-enter a few years later, only to fail again. Other Chinese carmakers were also affected by the stigma of poor quality which was kinda true.

Geely also previously entered the country in 2011 but also didn’t fare well with popular mainstream Japanese brands with the company eventually left as well.

In recent years, Chinese cars have been slowly re-entering the Philippine market. This is partly because of a trade agreement between China and the ASEAN. Things have definitely changed for Chinese-made cars and brands. 

Chinese cars can be categorized in three, fully Chinese brands; foreign branded but Chinese-owned and made, and foreign-owned and branded but Chinese-made. Volkswagen falls under the third category. The Philippine distributor, AC Motors, shocked the market when it launched a fully Chinese-made lineup for the country from the parent company’s joint venture with Chinese company SAIC. Chevrolet has also been selling the Chinese-made Sail subcompact sedan for a few years now. Its distributor, The Covenant Car Company, Inc. is now distributing SAIC-owned British marque Morris Garages or MG. The Chevrolet Sail is also manufactured by SAIC.

Fully Chinese brands like GAC, JAC, and BAIC have also entered the market. Foton was one of the first to be successful with their popular commercial vehicle lineup. There’s also Dongfeng, and Chang’an

Just last year, Geely returned with the Coolray subcompact crossover SUV and will begin selling the larger Azkarra compact crossover. Chery has also relaunched not too long ago under the distributorship of United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. who is also responsible for Foton Philippines.

So with all these Chinese cars available in our market today, are they worth a look? The answer is a simple yes. What we see today are definitely different from what they were in the past. Another thing is that these Chinese companies are actually partners with many popular mainstream brands. Some examples are Dongfeng with Honda, previously mentioned SAIC with Volkswagen and Chevrolet, BAIC with Mercedes-Benz, Chang’an with Ford, Chery with Jaguar-Land Rover, and Geely owns Volvo. With these in mind, we can say that Chinese brands have the experience to make good cars thanks to these partnerships.

Some good examples of these good Chinese cars are the Geely Coolray and the MG RX5, both of which I’ve experienced driving and taking a good long look. The MG RX5 didn’t instantly wow me but after some more observing, it made me think twice if I was looking at a Chinese car. The driving experience was pretty good as well. Interior build quality and comfort were on par with many luxury brands. 

The Geely Coolray on the other hand was a big surprise. The overall design of the car just felt very Volvo, both inside and out. Inside, comfort was excellent, materials and design did not make me feel that I was seated inside a 1-million peso subcompact crossover. And the driving, I couldn’t say anything except excellent. I’m hoping to test out the more recent Chery Tiggo soon and see what that one has to offer.

Now the biggest question of them all, how is the ownership experience. With these Chinese-made cars and Chinese brands just recently making their way into dealerships, it is not known how good these cars will be for the long term. Aftersales service and reliability will have to be proven by the companies behind these brands, and their respective dealerships. And with so many people lined-up today to own samples of these newcomers, we’ll surely get to know in a few years, the truth about these cars. 

Just remember, that all the negative perception these Chinese cars have today is exactly how Korean cars were perceived a little more than 10 years ago, and now, they are enjoying the trust and love of many Filipino car owners.

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