The consolidation of the Chinese car industry seems to have just begun, China Car Times commentors have long said that the smaller players in the industry will unite to take on the bigger players and survive in an ever more cut throat market. Now it seems that SouEast and Beijing Auto are beginning to woo each other, just as SAIC and NAC did in the early days of that courtship.
Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC) chairman, Xu Heyi, has already commented that his company seeks to partner with another Chinese maker, one that is rumored to be based in Fujian province. Who could that be? Well any logical guess would be Fujian based SouEast motors, Mitsubishi’s Chinese joint venture partner in China.
Rumors are also afoot that automotive giant, Dongfeng is planning to buy Harbin based Hafei motors.
Is the age of the Chinese automotive conglomerate upon us? It seems so.
Beijing teaming up with Soueast? I just don’t know about that. When we look at earlier partners Chrysler Jeep, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi, and the less than exciting outcomes of their tie ups with BAIC, I really wonder if it’s wise for Soueast to enter such a gamble. I think it could find a better partner. Even Hyundai would have been better off teaming up with Jianghuai Auto from the start. That’d be a more mainstream location for the frisky Korean giant.
BAIC one of those old holdout SOE’s, is too close to the bureaucratic center to be fluid.
In fact what I would prescribe for BAIC would be a move of its entire operation to Kunming, so it would be able to say, “Heaven is high and the Emperor is far away.” Beijing really doesn’t want that dinosaur in the middle of the bustling Chaoyang district anyway.