RE: Geely gearing up for Lotus production in China
Discussion
telecat said:
Making anything in China is asking for trouble especially if the QC engineers aren't from Europe/ USA/Japan/Korea. I just see it as killing the brand and I will not be going near a "Lotus" built in China.
Volvo do now. All the S90s are for example. Geely are pretty good at this.telecat said:
Making anything in China is asking for trouble especially if the QC engineers aren't from Europe/ USA/Japan/Korea. I just see it as killing the brand and I will not be going near a "Lotus" built in China.
I think you're about ten years out of date with that view. The Chinese still make cheap crap things because there's a significant market for them, but we're long past the days where they were incapable of making good things if they try. Boggy said:
Ok,
The whole point of owning a Lotus is that they are made in England !
FFS! I've owned 11 so I think I speak with some authority here. I wouldn't buy a Lotus if it was made anywhere else and I won't wish them luck as I do not agree with it.
Boggy
Given the Norfolk build quality is shocking I'd rather buy one that was built anywhere else. Its most likely the 6th finger and webbing causing the build issues. The whole point of owning a Lotus is that they are made in England !
FFS! I've owned 11 so I think I speak with some authority here. I wouldn't buy a Lotus if it was made anywhere else and I won't wish them luck as I do not agree with it.
Boggy
Quoting the Reuters article, "The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the [local] authority’s website." Assuming 80% utilization, that's 120,000 Lotus' made in China. Presumably Hethel would then produce the balance of their global demand?
Jellinek said:
Quoting the Reuters article, "The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the [local] authority’s website." Assuming 80% utilization, that's 120,000 Lotus' made in China. Presumably Hethel would then produce the balance of their global demand?
We have no idea what proportion of that 150k capacity will carry Lotus badges. The article implies that it wont be all of them. kambites said:
Jellinek said:
Quoting the Reuters article, "The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the [local] authority’s website." Assuming 80% utilization, that's 120,000 Lotus' made in China. Presumably Hethel would then produce the balance of their global demand?
We have no idea what proportion of that 150k capacity will carry Lotus badges. The article implies that it wont be all of them. Jellinek said:
Agreed, (I was being more than a little tongue in cheek). I suspect the Polestar will be built here alongside BEV and HEV Volvos, possible LEVC taxi and van derivative). My guess is Geely will want to install several flexible lines, or multiple low volume dedicated lines to cater for several models from various brands.
Polestar is in Chengdu and I think nearly finished. I think it's pretty small though.telecat said:
Making anything in China is asking for trouble especially if the QC engineers aren't from Europe/ USA/Japan/Korea. I just see it as killing the brand and I will not be going near a "Lotus" built in China.
A lot of cars coming out of Hethel appear to have bypassed the QC engineers anyway...I’ve owned 3 Exiges, and until they put a gearbox / engine combo that actually go together I won’t own another.
Here’s hoping the Chinese address the issue so I can get back in one.
telecat said:
Making anything in China is asking for trouble especially if the QC engineers aren't from Europe/ USA/Japan/Korea. I just see it as killing the brand and I will not be going near a "Lotus" built in China.
I feel similarly; some of the Chinese motorbikes I have seen are so poor. However I stand ready to be corrected when the cars come out. Also there is the issue of the Chinese ripping off designs and producing clones....DanielSan said:
Bentley, Rolls Royce and Aston just as an example wouldn't be the success they are now if they were still British owned sadly. History sort of shows that.
Aston's a public company floated on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in the UK. I'd say that makes them pretty British (although really it depends exactly who the shareholders are). Also, obviously, there's a bunch of smaller players. Morgan, Westfield, Ariel, Ginetta, various racing car companies and one or two of the old kit car brigade who're still soldiering on...Personally, this kind of thing has never bothered me all that much but, for those of us who do worry about it, things could certainly be worse.
Chainsaw Rebuild said:
telecat said:
Making anything in China is asking for trouble especially if the QC engineers aren't from Europe/ USA/Japan/Korea. I just see it as killing the brand and I will not be going near a "Lotus" built in China.
I feel similarly; some of the Chinese motorbikes I have seen are so poor. However I stand ready to be corrected when the cars come out. Also there is the issue of the Chinese ripping off designs and producing clones....As for building foreign brand cars in China for the Chinese and surrounding areas, that's nothing new at all. It's been the case since the 80s! All major brands are there: Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo (of cause), JLR, PSA, VW, Skoda, Fiat, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Ford (inc. Lincoln), GM (inc. Cadillac, Buick, Chevy...)... Most of the time, R&D are done at their headquarters back home. But, big companies like Ford, GM, VW, Toyota and few others have also set up their studios over there, so they can make sure the designers at their headquarters understand what Chinese consumers need. That's a bit like the biggest BMW design studio isn't in Germany but in the US. Same can be said to VW, Ford and most other big car manufactures. Otherwise, they will lose touch of their biggest market and not being able to make enough profit to satisfy their own domestic markets' needs.
Put it this way, if Geely didn't open up a Volvo factory in China to build S40, S60, S90, XC60, XC40 for the Chinese and a few other Asian markets, Geely (or indeed Volvo) would not be able to afford to continue build cars in Sweden for the rest of the world. Likewise, if BMW doesn't build cars in America, it might not be able to offer and build as many exciting cars in Europe.
Sometimes, I do wonder why media (both west and east) behave this way. What good can they bring by brainwashing people to dislike each other. Not everyone get the chance to travel around the world to see and experience things in person. Medias should really take their responsibility to be the bridge.
Btw, all your iPhones, iPads and similar high end products are produced in China. You get what you pay for. If you are paying nearly £1000 for a phone, of cause you will get the best quality one, even one from China. However, if you are looking for something cheap, then as long as there's a market for those cheap low quality products, China or any other developing countries would be willing to make them for you (as long as there's enough profit margin).
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