Chinese Farmers and the Global Automotive Industry

My thanks to Ed Garten for forwarding me this news on Geely's interest in acquiring Volvo from Ford -- taken from today's Wall Street Journal:

Today's Wall Street Journal has a front page story regarding the rapid rise of China's Geely Holding automobile company and its bid to, within a few years, become a major world automotive player. Geely has been trying to buy Volvo away from Ford now for about three years -- mainly they want the safety technology and engineering expertise plus it seems that Chinese people not only want Buicks, but they want Volvos.

Geely Chairman Li Shufu has thus far refused to discuss his plans for Volvo publicly, but in recent interviews he has been "coy" about his interest in the Swedish auto maker by saying:

"Volvo is like a mysterious, beautiful Swedish woman. We just look at her from far away, amazed. We don't dare get close to her. We are just

a bunch of farm boys."

And I thought Southerners were the masters of understatement! Recently, China surpassed the United States as the world's largest consumers of automobiles. The Chinese are no longer content to play second fiddle to the Americans, Europeans, Japanese, or Koreans. And why should they? BYD had a most impressive display at this year's Detroit Auto Show, with their plug-in hybrid. And Brilliant showed up with a BMW clone that is a testimony to the Chinese taking what they want from the Germans and then saying goodbye. Farmers can be very shrewd people! History is replete with examples of how the underdeveloped outsider emerged as an industrial leader due to cheap labor, good business practices, and ample resources. The Chinese may write the next several chapters in automobile history, if Detroit and others are not careful. Remember, we laughed when they started supplying McDonalds with the Happy Meal Toys!